Expert urges the Dominican Republic to include all older people in its social protection systems

In the Dominican Republic there is a general lack of understanding of the concepts of aging and ageismsaid this Friday the independent expert on the enjoyment of human rights by older persons* at the end of an eleven-day visit to that country.

The preliminary conclusions by Claudia Mahler point out that, in many sectors, such as employment, housing or education, older people face barriers due to their age, as indicated by anecdotal evidence.

Thus, the expert urged the country to invest in social housing for this population group and asked to increase the resources dedicated to their education in rural areas.

access to health

Mahler highlighted that access to health is another of the areas in which this group suffers structural age discrimination, detailing that medicines are too expensive and not covered by health insurance once the person retires.

“I would recommend evaluating these structural barriers in the law and providing older people with the same access to health care on equal terms with the rest of the population,” he stressed.

pensions

On the other hand, he pointed out that despite the fact that the law establishes the right to social security and grants an old-age pension from the age of 60 for those who are not on the payroll, it is not complementary to the disability pension, since the latter It is only available to active workers.

He added that although the State grants solidarity pensions to older people who have no source of income, they still does not cover the large number of individuals of that group that lives in a situation of poverty and extreme poverty.

“Despite the progress made, a large part of the elderly population of the Dominican Republic continues completely excluded from any pension system because she works in the informal economy or is undocumented”, Mahler detailed, adding that due to the lack of a universal pension, older people often continue to work after retirement age, generally in insecure and low-productivity jobs or in informal jobs.

In this context, it recommended the reform of the legislation on social security to implement a universal pension system “that effectively protects the constitutional right to social security of all older people.”

The most affected by disasters

Another section of the expert’s observations refers to the fact that older people from poor or marginal neighborhoods are the most affected by natural disasters due to the location of their homes in areas prone to floods and droughts, to the fragility of the materials of construction and the precariousness of their living conditions.

However, this this situation, this collective does not always benefit from government emergency response and often receive no additional help to rebuild their homes. “The response to environmental disasters must support vulnerable older people, including women, people living in poverty, immigrants and undocumented people,” she stressed.

Violence, neglect and abuse

The expert denounced evidence of violence psychological, physical, economic, sexual and patrimonialas well as neglectful abuse and financial abuse.

He explained that this violence usually occurs in the family environment, frequently at the hands of the couple, children, grandchildren and other relatives. “This type of violence especially affects older people with disabilities, generating a situation of partial or total dependency that makes them more vulnerable to this type of action,” she said.

resources and will

In closing, Mahler recognized that the Dominican Republic has made considerable progress in guaranteeing the human rights of older persons and trusted that with a adequate allocation of resources and political will manages to ensure the inclusion of all the members of this group in the public policies of social protection.

He specified that the country should take a more human-centred approach to increase the visibility of older people in the most vulnerable situations and guarantee the full enjoyment of their human rights.

During her visit to the Dominican Republic, the expert was in Santo Domingo and in the provinces of Elías Piña and San José de Ocoa.

Mahler will present a comprehensive report with recommendations to the Human Rights Council in September 2023.

* The experts are part of what is known as the special procedures of the Human Rights Council. Special Procedures, the largest body of independent experts in the UN human rights system, is the general name for the council’s independent investigative and monitoring mechanisms that address specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.