The Elderly Empowerment and Care Center "Ehsan", in partnership with the National Human Rights Committee, organized a panel discussion titled "Protecting the Elderly, Responsibilities and Tools" on the occasion of the The World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, which is celebrated by the United Nations for the year 2022 under the slogan "Fighting Elderly Abuse". The seminar aims to familiarize the community with the forms of elder abuse, the psychological and social effects of elder abuse, protect them and ensure their role in society is enhanced and provide an opportunity to promote a better understanding of elder neglect and abuse by raising awareness of the cultural, social, economic and demographic processes that lead to abuse and neglect of the elderly, in addition to drawing the attention of organizations, local communities and individuals to the elderly and raising awareness of abuse, neglect and exploitation of the elderly and clarifying the role of state institutions and civil society institutions, especially social services institutions, in dealing with the problem of elderly abuse and working to reduce it, as well as offering recommendations that would protect the elderly from abuse, preserve their dignity and preserve their rights. The event was attended by a large number of bodies concerned with protecting the rights of the elderly and those concerned with providing services to the elderly from ministries, governmental and non-governmental institutions, universities, bodies and centers concerned with the elderly, members of the United Nations and its specialized agencies concerned with the protection of human rights and the elderly in the State of Qatar, and a number of the elderly themselves and their representatives. All attendees praised the papers that were submitted and the good reception and hospitality of Ehsan and the National Human Rights Committee, describing the seminar as successful and fruitful. Dr. Mohammed bin Saif Al Kuwari, Vice Chairman of the National Human Rights Committee, said in his opening speech: “Awareness of the rights of the elderly is one of the main approaches that enable the person to advance the society in accordance with noble human values. The importance of adopting this day comes from the fact that it represents a global recognition of the need for the elderly to be protected from abuse and opposition to violations and abuses that befall them, as well as the need to develop global and national responses to eliminate this problem, which international statistics expect to worsen in the coming years with the increase in the rate of population aging.” He added that this event, in partnership with Ehsan Center, is one of the fruits of the memorandum of understanding signed by the National Human Rights Committee with Qatar Social WorkFoundation, noting that the protection of human rights in general and the rights of the elderly in particular, is at the essence of the Arab-Islamic culture, and it is not a foreign or imported concept. Al-Kuwari said that the National Human Rights Committee values and supports any international approach that respects and protects the human rights of the elderly. “Through the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, we participated in the international efforts related to the adoption of a binding international agreement to respect and protect the rights of older persons, while including a mechanism for independent experts to examine state reports to evaluate the extent to which their legislation, policies and practices comply with the provisions of this Convention, in addition to enabling older persons to submit complaints based on this mechanism, as is the case with other international human rights treaties,” he pointed out. “In this regard, I note with appreciation the efforts of the Elderly Empowerment and Care Center (Ehsan) and call on them to strengthen joint cooperation with the National Committee in the field of promoting and protecting the rights of the elderly from a human rights perspective,” he said. “The National Human Rights Committee hopes that our discussion will lead to a set of best practices that we aspire to become part of the legal system in the State of Qatar, in addition to being part of the policies, plans and work programs of the various stakeholders,” he added. This was followed by a speech by the CEO of Qatar Social Work Foundation, Mr. Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Kuwari, in which he said: “The State of Qatar had an early awareness of the problem of elderly abuse, and so the state was keen to avoid it and to develop means of prevention, as the Qatari legislative system emphasized the importance of protecting the rights of the elderly in general, and protecting their rights for social security, housing, work, and legal and social protection in particular. In this regard, the state took measures to implement and acknowledge the rights stipulated in international human rights conventions for this segment, to ensure the strengthening of their role in society, in accordance with the concept of empowerment based on the rights and law, and not on the traditional concept of social welfare.” He said that in light of Qatar Social Work Foundation’s full awareness of the problem of elder abuse, the foundation continues to participate annually in the celebration of the World Elder Abuse Awareness Day. “This participation is in line with the mission of Qatar Social Work Foundation, and in accordance with the strategy of "Ehsan Center", which aims to empower the elderly in the State of Qatar, provide the services necessary for their care, and raise the community's awareness of the rights and basic needs of the elderly,” he pointed out. He added that there is no doubt that all the awareness-raising activities that Ehsan center provides and will provide to raise society’s awareness of the importance of empowering the elderly and supporting their active participation in various fields comes from the belief of Qatar Social Work Foundation and Ehsan in the importance of the effective participation of elderly in society, and their inherent right to contribute to the national development process in various fields, just like the rest of society. During the discussion session, Ms. Mushira Hamad Al-Shahwani, Director of the Home Care Department at Ehsan Center, presented a working paper titled “Definition of elder abuse and its effects”. The paper addressed the definition of abuse, its types and resulting effects, and discussed responsibilities and roles to protect the elderly from abuse. It also discussed the role of Ehsan center in the field of awareness regarding abuse of the elderly and offered recommendations to protect the elderly from abuse and violence. It urged the competent authorities to educate members of society, especially the elderly category, to report cases of abuse, follow up on suspected cases, and implement the regulations that criminalize violence against the elderly, tightening penalties for abusers, criminalizing all acts of moral and physical violence, and enacting penalties for such violations. For his part, Mr. Nasser Marzouq Al-Sultan, Director of the Legal Affairs Department of the National Human Rights Committee, presented a working paper titled “Best Practices at the International Level to Raise Awareness and Reduce Abuse of the Elderly”. “There is no comprehensive and integrated international legal instrument to promote and protect the rights and dignity of the elderly as is the case with other vulnerable groups, such as: persons with disabilities, women, children and migrant workers,” he said. He pointed out however that all of the above mentione categories enjoy protection from various forms of violence, abuse, and discrimination under the relevant international human rights conventions, adding that the United Nations attempted to address this issue and enhance the protection of human rights for older persons since 2010, when the United Nations General Assembly established the Open-ended Working Group on Ageing; with the aim of protecting the human rights of older persons. He said that the United Nations General Assembly decided in 2012 that the group would consider, within the framework of its mandate, proposals for an international legal instrument to promote and protect the rights and dignity of older persons The National Human Rights Committee paper dealt with international best practices in the field of preventing elder abuse and the role of the National Human Rights Committee in promoting and protecting the rights of the elderly through Cabinet Resolution No. (29) of 2019 establishing the National Committee on Women and Children Affairs, the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities. One of the objectives of this law was to promote and protect the elderly, monitor their conditions, study legislation related to them, and propose its amendment in line with international conventions. Hoda Al-Mannai, an expert in studies of the elderly and people with disabilities at the Department of Family Affairs, presented a working paper titled "Services provided by the Ministry of Social Development and Family", which covered the services provided by the Ministry of Social Development and Family to the elderly, including managing family affairs and providing workshops, lectures, training and awareness programs for all categories and cooperation with relevant governmental and non-governmental agencies in offering training courses and workshops that serve the elderly and people with disabilities, celebrating global and international days for the elderly, and managing social security services based on the Law No. (38) of 1995 regarding social security, which provides social security assistance by providing a pension to the elderly, as this service allows the elderly who is over sixty years of age and does not have a capable breadwinner or sufficient source of income to receive financial assistance, servant allowance, exemptions from fees and the provision of some needs. The paper offered a full explanation of the housing law for public housing to provide housing at the expense of the state for the incapable and the elderly who meet the conditions stipulated by the law. For his part, Mr. Khaled Abdullah, the Executive Director of Ehsan center, expressed his happiness with the success of this event. “This day is a good opportunity for the whole world to express its opposition to the violations and suffering that can affect the elderly. It’s an opportunity to discuss issues and rights related to the elderly, to raise societal awareness of the importance of finding solutions to stop elderly abuse worldwide, especially as it is considered a global social issue that affects the health and rights of a large number of elderly people around the world, and this is what makes it an issue worthy of attention the entire international community,” he said. He concluded his speech by praying for success for everyone in fulfilling their religious, human and professional duties towards the elderly. He prayed that God The Almighty would enable us to empower the elderly with their legitimate and societal rights to have the decent life they deserve from us in light of the comprehensive development of our dear country.