The Impact of COVID-19 on the Socio-economic Rights of Older Persons in Africa: The Urgency of Operationalising the Protocol on the Rights of Older Persons

Philip Oamen*, Eghosa Ekhator

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    Abstract

    Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic across the world, it has been reported that older persons have suffered acute hardship and fatalities more than any other age group. According to the World Health Organisation the fatality rate among older persons is five times the global average, and the United Nations has predicted that the mortality rate could climb even higher. The situation is aggravated on the African continent as a result of a shortage of medical personnel and other resources, as well as inadequate palliative measures to address the
    issues around the pandemic. Despite the provisions in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Protocol to the African Charter on the Rights of Older Persons in Africa which seek to provide some safety nets, many of these senior citizens continue to suffer untold socioeconomic hardship. Adopting an analytical and doctrinal methodology, this article examines the Protocol, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and several United Nations policy documents aimed at realising the socio-economic rights of older
    persons. The article finds that there is a lack of political commitment to operationalise the provisions of the Protocol, as evinced by the limited number of countries that have ratified it since its adoption in 2016. It comparatively engages with the provisions of the Inter-American Convention on the Rights of Older Persons to argue that, beyond the normative framing of these rights in Africa, there is a need for deliberate and genuine commitment by governments in Africa, if the rights are to be realised. The article advocates international, regional and national cooperation and calls for a more liberal judicial approach, to ensure that
    the Protocol’s ‘paperisation’ of the rights of older persons does not lead
    or continue to lead to their pauperisation.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)782-811
    Number of pages30
    JournalAfrican Human Rights Law Journal
    Volume21
    Publication statusPublished (VoR) - 2021

    Keywords

    • Africa
    • covid-19
    • Economic and Social Rights
    • Impact
    • Older Persons

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