Between Promise and Practice: Reflections from HRC60

From the floor of HRC60, this reflection shows how ideals meet reality — where progress and struggle coexist, calling for deeper resolve, greater equality, and a future built on rights that protect and empower all.

Ideals Tested, Humanity Shown

At the Human Rights Council, ideals meet reality. During HRC60, I watched delegates debate words with real consequences for people’s lives. Advocates fought to keep their meaning intact. Convictions ran deep, shaped by different perspectives on what justice should look like.

Progress came inch by inch. Yet in that tension and persistence, you could feel the pulse of something larger — humanity striving, however imperfectly, to stand for its own rights. Justice becomes real through the voices that give it life.

Standards Tried, Resolve Steadfast

An intervention called for the release of a human rights defender who had stood for justice at the Human Rights Council the year before. Mothers invoked their right to truth. They were still seeking answers about sons and husbands missing in battle more than a decade ago.

The work continues — to uphold the economic, social, and cultural rights first affirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and later codified in the International Covenants. These acts of courage, loss, and persistence keep the Council’s purpose real. They remind us that rights must be lived, protected, and promoted in every generation.

Emerging Frontiers, Evolving Principles

At HRC60, new dimensions of human rights came into view. Delegates and advocates discussed how climate action must be just and inclusive. The shift to green economies must protect workers and communities instead of pushing them aside.

They raised concern over digital privacy and surveillance, as technology and artificial intelligence reshape how rights are exercised — and sometimes erased. Attention also turned to toxic exposure and environmental harm, long overlooked but increasingly recognized as threats to health, dignity, and justice.

The discussions were exploratory and cautious. They tested how far established principles can stretch to meet new realities. What stood out was the persistence of those pushing the boundaries of the possible — advocates, experts, and everyday people reminding the Council that human rights must evolve or risk leaving many behind.

These emerging frontiers show that the human rights system is not only about redressing harm but also about preventing it. People and dignity must stay at the center of a changing world. As the scope of rights expands, it also reveals who remains unseen — including older persons, whose experiences too often fall into invisibility.

Spotlight Widening, Protection Lagging

At HRC60, older persons’ rights found space through the Independent Expert’s report and dialogue, the International Day of Older Persons celebration led by the NGO Committee on Ageing Geneva and Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People, and the side event on “Active Ageing and the Full Enjoyment of Human Rights of Older Persons,” organized by Permanent Missions of Slovenia and Italy.,

These moments kept older persons on the Council’s agenda. They gave voice to those calling for stronger protection. Beyond these spotlights, however, engagement remained uneven.

States that supported the April 2025 resolution establishing an intergovernmental working group to draft a legally binding instrument reaffirmed their commitment. Many others stayed silent. Integrating older persons into wider human rights debates was still the exception. Only one state mentioned them during the discussion on the right to development.

The renewal of the Independent Expert’s mandate signaled continued recognition — but not yet the urgency this issue calls for. Still, every mention, report, and dialogue adds weight to a growing understanding: the rights of older persons are not a special interest but a measure of how seriously we take equality itself.

Courage Continues, Equality Ahead

The path toward a legally binding instrument on the human rights of older persons demands persistence, courage, and collaboration. It takes steady work from activists and states alike to turn support into substance and principle into action.

Advancing equality for all means recognizing that the rights of older persons today lay the groundwork for the dignity of generations to come. As political differences sharpen and consensus feels harder to reach, we must remember that human rights are not partisan ideals. They are the conditions for humanity to thrive — across ages, borders, and beliefs.

The Council may not always move quickly. Yet its progress depends on those who refuse to let equality slip from view. In the end, progress for older persons is progress for everyone — a reminder that dignity belongs to us all.

Photo credit: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Museum Exhibition