General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

30 November 1987

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

                                                        A/RES/42/51
                                                        85th plenary meeting
                                                        30 November 1987
 
             Implementation of the International Plan
             of Action on Aging and related activities
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Recalling its resolution 37/51 of 3 December 1982, by which it endorsed
 the International Plan of Action on Aging, adopted by consensus by the World
 Assembly on Aging,
 
      Reaffirming its resolution 40/29 of 29 November 1985, in which it
 stressed the importance of the United Nations Trust Fund for Aging in
 assisting Member States, in particular developing countries, in formulating
 and implementing policies and programmes on aging,
 
      Reaffirming further its resolution 40/30 of 29 November 1985, in which it
 expressed its conviction that the elderly must be considered an important and
 necessary element in the development process at all levels within a given
 society, and reaffirming also that developing countries, in particular, need
 assistance in order to implement the Plan of Action,
 
      Reaffirming its resolution 41/96 of 4 December 1986, in which it urged
 Governments to intensify their efforts, within the context of their own
 national priorities, cultures and traditions, to implement the recommendations
 contained in the Plan of Action,
 
      Taking note of Commission for Social Development resolution 30/1
 of4 March 1987 relating to the preparation by the Secretary-General of the
 medium-term plan for the period 1990-1995,
 
      Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General on the question of
 aging,
 
      Recognizing the importance of the second review and appraisal of the
 implementation of the Plan of Action, which will be undertaken by the
 Commission for Social Development at its thirty-first session, in 1989,
 
      Taking note of the importance accorded to the question of aging in the
 Guiding Principles for Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes in
 the Near Future, established by the Interregional Consultation on
 Developmental Social Welfare Policies and Programmes, held at Vienna from 7 to
 15 September 1987,
 
      Convinced that the United Nations Trust Fund for Aging is a valuable
 mechanism for promoting activities in the implementation of the Plan of
 Action, and concerned that the resources of the Trust Fund are being depleted
 without adequate replenishment,
 
      Acknowledging with appreciation the invaluable role played by
 non-governmental organizations in promoting greater awareness of issues that
 involve the aging and in advocating measures to implement the Plan of Action,
 
      1.   Reaffirms once again its endorsement of the International Plan of
 Action on Aging, and requests the Secretary-General, through the Commission
 for Social Development, to continue to monitor progress in the implementation
 of the Plan of Action, particularly through the review and appraisal process
 requested by the General Assembly in its resolution 37/51;
 
      2.   Invites Member States to participate actively in the second review
 and appraisal of the implementation of the Plan of Action;
 
      3.   Welcomes the establishment in Malta of the International Institute
 on Aging in pursuance of recommendation 57 of the Plan of Action and of
 Economic and Social Council resolution 1987/41 of 28 May 1987;
 
      4.   Supports the recommendation made to the Secretary-General by the
 Commission for Social Development in its resolution 30/1 that, in preparing
 the medium-term plan for the period 1990-1995, he should give priority to the
 careful elaboration of practical strategies to implement the Plan of Action by
 providing fuller co-ordination of aging activities in the United Nations
 system and maintaining adequate programme budget allocations;
 
      5.   Takes note with satisfaction of the recommendation made by the
 Commission for Social Development in its resolution 30/1 that the
 Secretary-General, in preparing the medium-term plan for the period 1990-1995,
 should propose a phased implementation of research and policy analysis
 activities in the field of aging, bearing in mind the work of the specialized
 agencies;
 
      6.   Requests the Commission for Social Development to convene an
 informal open-ended ad hoc working group at its thirty-first session in order
 to consider adequately the report of the Secretary-General on the second
 review and appraisal of the implementation of the Plan of Action and propose
 to the Commission at its thirty-first session appropriate measures to advance
 further the cause of the aging;
 
      7.   Considers that the tenth anniversary of the 1982 World Assembly on
 Aging should be marked by appropriate follow-up activities in order to
 maintain awareness on a global level of issues affecting the aging;
 
      8.   Calls upon those Governments which have not already done so to
 establish and strengthen national mechanisms in order to promote policies and
 programmes in the field of aging;
 
      9.   Once again requests the Secretary-General to respond favourably to
 the request of the African Regional Conference on Aging, held at Dakar in
 December 1984, for assistance in establishing an African gerontological
 society;
 
      10.  Requests the Secretary-General to strengthen the existing programmes
 on aging, as well as the United Nations system-wide co-ordination in this
 field, with the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the
 Secretariat serving as the focal point in the United Nations system for
 activities in the field of aging;
 
      11.  Strongly appeals to Governments and intergovernmental and
 non-governmental organizations to contribute generously to the United Nations
 Trust Fund for Aging;
 
      12.  Calls upon the specialized agencies, regional commissions and other
 funding organizations concerned to continue to support activities relating to
 the question of aging, in particular by providing assistance for projects that
 fall within their mandate;
 
      13.  Welcomes initiatives by non-governmental organizations that
 encourage the private sector to support the work of the United Nations system
 in the field of aging by mobilizing resources for implementing the Plan of
 Action, and in this respect takes note of a proposal for the creation of a
 world foundation on aging;
 
      14.  Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at
 its forty-third session on the implementation of the present resolution;
 
      15.  Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-third
 session the item entitled "Question of aging".