Dear, esteemed guests,
Twenty years after the first World Assembly on Ageing, held in Vienna in 1982, today's convention of the UN Conference on Ageing (the 2nd Session of the World Assembly on Ageing) takes place in this inveterate city Madrid, capital of the friendly country, Spain, which witnessed a series of important world civilizations through the centuries, from the Roman to the Gothic, then to the Arab Islamic.These were all assimilated, with other additions, to make the features of the contemporary picture a rich mixture of a legacy combining human achievements through a history that shows the highest products of creative thought in the fields of science, art, philosophy. . . etc. The picture also illustrates the characteristics of a nation always aspiring to promote its role, which draws on its prominent location on tile nlap ofthis world, extending beyond tile geographical sense to the cultural sense, with its deepest visions and implications.

What has changed during two decades in this world? What new developments have emerged on the human level in particular., which we view as the right and real criterion of progress? What is sometimes adopted as a criterion or a standard of development does not always represent the reality of the human aspiration to a better life for various social segments, particularly those whose needs require more attention by the community, with its different bodies, governmental, popular and domestic. It is such attention that consolidates and promotes the concept of social integrity, thus making a contribution to further stability, security and the well-being of this world in the present and future.

The availability of the factors of social care and integrity requires first that a single standard should prevail in viewing the rights of people and states in the world to enjoy tile basic human rights provided for in international charters and legitimacy, especially the respect of independence, which should not suffer any encroachments thereupon.The law of the jungle, attempts to usurp other people's lands and threatening their security, stability and safety should never be allowed to prevail. We are witnessing, and the whole world is witnessing with us, the gross violations of human rights in Palestine, the Golan and Southern Lebanon, through the continuous Israeli occupation, and the expropriation of land horn its original owners. These violations include destruction, the killing and displacement ofinhabitants, without any exception of women, children, youth or elderly people. These people, whose lands, lives and destinies are victimized by aggression are branded with "terrorism" if they move to defend these basic human rights. This accusation comes from the aggressor and those who support, arm and protect the aggression. Instead of muzzling and condemning this aggression and taking all measures to punish the aggressor, the acts of penalization, siege, starvation and impoverishment go in other directions, to suppress people and states that refuse to Succumb to various forms of extortion and hegemony.

Under such conditions, which continue to prevail in many parts of the world, and precisely in the developing world. including our Arab homeland, the Syrian Arab Republic, in collaboration with the international and regional organizations concerned, continued to give great attention to the social question. In the field of ageing, we can speak about a notably accelerating rate of longevity, moving parallel to a process of comprehensive modernization of the economic, political and social structures, a notable decline of mortality rates, a decrease of fertility and a comparative retreat in the rates of natural population growth. In the light of all this and the demographic changes it represents, there is constantly increasing need to take effective and essential measures to prepare for a serious, scientific and well-studied confrontation of the coming socio-economic implications, particularly related to the question of the constantly rising ratio of caring for the elderly . This care falls on the shoulders of the state, the family and the community at large, in full integrity and solidarity together.

Of course, this is not the place to delve into many details. However I beg to be allowed to throw some light on certain aspects of the achievements in this field in my country, Syria. According to the statistical bulletin of the Central Office of Statistics, the population of Syria in mid-2000 numbered 16,320,000, including 8,343,000 males and 7,977,000 females. People over 60 numbered 811,000, including 484,000 males and 327,000 females. Thus, older people account for 5% of the total population at present. Statistical expectations and demographic projections indicate that the ratio of older people will increase almost regularly by 9 % every five years, to reach 9.7% of the total population by the year 2025.

In the past, questions relating to age-care were left to civil, voluntary bodies. These matters were not considered urgent social problems, due to the available traditions and customs, and the nature of family relations which depended on close family links which alleviated the suffering of older people and reduced the burden of ageing on society. However, the change of social conditions, the movement from the extended family to the nuclear family and the increasing entry of women into fields of work underlined the importance of caring for this category of citizens. Successive censuses have shown that the age-structure in Syria was changing towards an increase in the category of older people, due to the sharp decrease in both mortality rates and population growth. This became an additional incentive for the state to pay more attention to issues concerning old people.

The Syrian Arab Republic has drawn a national plan of social and health care for the aged, with the following aims:

1-To preserve and promote their health:
Within this framework, efforts were exerted to qualify specialized personnel in the areas of medical care for the older people. Specialized departments for such care were established in public hospitals. The treatment of the aged was adopted as a secondary discipline of family medicine. Some popular organizations, vocational trade unions, civil societies and old people's houses established dispensaries to take care of the health of the aged.

 2-To improve their social conditions:
This is carried out through the provision of financial support for families that care for older people, from funds allocated for social welfare in the departments of labour and social affairs. Other contributions come from voluntary anti charitable societies. The role of the family is promoted through seminars, meetings and the involvement of older people in some special programmes. They are represented in the boards of some societies active in the field of care for older people. The voluntary efforts of pensioners are also utilized.

The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs encourages the establishment of old people's centres and houses by voluntary civil societies wishing to work in this field.

3-To improve their economic standard:
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, several other ministries and some popular organizations and civil societies, in collaboration with Arab and international organizations, are seeking to establish income-generating projects for solve categories of people, including the aged, particularly elderly women.

4-To promote awareness of their affairs:
Training courses have been organized for media men concerning the development of special programmes related to the promotion of awareness by the community of the conditions and needs of older people. Bulletins and posters are prepared containing some guidelines for the enjoyment of good health acrd delaying the phenomena of ageing. Celebrations are held to mark the international Day of the Ageing People on Oct. 1 St every year, adopted by the UN in 1994.

5-To ensure their welfare:
The cultural centres throughout the country welcome older people, allowing them the opportunity to read. Some popular organizations and voluntary bodies make regular visits to old people's houses and organize artistic activities, recreational shows, exhibitions and celebrations.

6-To provide psychiatric care for older people:
This is carried out through the necessary, in-depth studies of the psychological conditions of the residents of old people's houses, in order to help in finding adequate treatment for each case. Proper climates are created to facilitate adjustment and the continuation of a sound and healthy life for the aged people, physically and psychologically.

7-Research and studies:
In this context, field studies have been carried out concerning the health and social conditions of older people. A guideline for families has been completed, dealing with the preservation and promotion of the good health of elderly persons. Another pamphlet of guidelines is addressed to medical workers active in this field.

Houses of Old and Disabled People in Syria:
There are twenty houses caring for ageing and disabled people in Syria. Damascus and Aleppo have two such houses each, managed by the government. The rest, distributed to various Syrian governorates, belong to civil societies. They are under the administrative, technical and financial supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs. The fees collected by the houses that belong to civil societies differ from one place to another. Yet, it should be noted that there is free accommodation for those who are proved by social studies to be unable to pay the cost of residence.
As for the government houses, they offer their services free of change, and take token fees from those capable of payment.

Syrian Legislation Concerning Old People:
Ageing people benefit from the services offered by the state to all citizens without any discrimination, according to the provisions of the permanent constitution of the Syrian Arab Republic issued in 1973. Paragraph (a) of Article 44 provides that "the family is the basic cell of society; and it is protected by the state."

 Article 46 provides that:
I -The state supports each citizen and his family in cases of emergency, sickness, disability, orphanhood and old age.

2-The state protects citizens' health and provides them with the means ohpreverition, trcatitlent and medication.

The legislation enforced in the Syrian Arab Republic contains special provisions concerning the insurance of old age and care for the aged, particularly the Following:

-The Law of Social Insurance, issued according to Act No.92, dated April 6,1959, amended by Low No.78, dated Dec.31,2001, to become the united reference for all those employed by the state and the private sector. It contains provisions for the insurance of old age, such as the conditions of deserving a retirement pension, the way grits calculation, the sources of insuring old age and disability, the inheritance of a woman's pension, and the possibility of investing 50% of the surplus funds of the General Establishment of Social Insurance in projects that ensure investment revenues on the basis of a study of economic viability . Such ail investment must enjoy a certain degree of investment guarantees, with positive implications for the interests of the insured pensioners, particularly the aged among them.

-Retirement pensions are subject to increases according to certain ratios whenever the salaries of state employees are increased, in order to be brought in line with the rising cost of living.

-Law No.20,of 1981, concerning the establishment old people's houses in the Syrian governorates.

What Syria has done, and continues to do, in the field of care for old people is not far from what is being done in the Arab homeland and the world. In order to undertake this task in the best way, there should be co-ordination and integration of efforts among various Countries of the world. In this regard, Syria is keen to benefit from international experience and practice, proceeding from following-up and implementing the international plan of work for the aged people in Vienna in 1982, adopted by the UN, the Basic Principles of Old-Age Care, issued in 1991, the Rights of the Ageing People, of 1995 and the declaration of 1999 as an International Year for Older People, to prepare a community for all ages.

The Arab countries drew the regional work plan for the care of old people in 1993, in the meeting organized by the UN Economic and Social Committee of West Asia (ESCWA) in Cairo. The Arab countries utilized this plan to draw their policies concerning care for the older people, to take measures to enable them to participate in the progress of their community and to raise awareness of the importance of this social segment, the necessity to take its needs into account and to integrate it in active public life.

Syria has also participated in the recent regional ministerial meeting, held in Beirut on Feb.8,2002, to prepare for the UN Conference on Ageing (the Second International Assembly on Ageing). The meeting discussed the Arab plan of work for the ageing people up to the year 2012, which proceeded from the outlines of the international plan of work of 2002.

Dear esteemed guests,
Real care for older people cannot be carried out correctly unless the general human framework as a whole cares for the basic human rights of people throughout this world, away from various forms of occupation, aggression, usurpation, uprooting of people from their soil, displacing and exterminating them. This is what is currently taking place in Palestine, the Syrian Golan and south Lebanon at the hands of the forces of Israeli occupation. Syria's attitude in this field is embodied in the address of his excellency President Bashar Al-Assad of the Syrian Arab Republic to the 14th ordinary session of the Arab summit in Beirut on March 27 and 28,2002. He said: "For us, Arabs, arch-terrorism comes from Israel; and we see any terrorism in the world through the perspective of this terrorism. Any discussion of terrorism concerning the Middle East in which Israel is not the axis and the essence is a flawed discussion which is not objective."

 In spite of all these difficult circumstances, which lack objectivity, the Arabs once more affirm their adherence to just and comprehensive peace, full withdrawal from their territories occupied in 1967, the establishment of the Palestinian state , with east Jerusalem as its capital , the right of repatriation and the other constant principles which we always reiterate. We reassure the world once more that we want peace, particularly since we live in a world that forgets quickly, and distorts facts even more quickly and easily. Also we support the Iraqi people and we reject any act of aggression against Iraq's unity as well as it's territorial unity. Furthermore we support the sudani people unity as well as Sudan's territorial unity, also we denounce the continuing embargo against Libya and the attempts of any aggression against Somalia.

Finally, I would like to express in this important occasion our solidarity with people who are still struggling to achieve their liberation and independence.

Mr. President
I would like to congratulate you as well as the bureau of the second world assembly on aging for your election.

I would like to thank you and to convey my best wishes to this assembly to achieve it's goal.