The White Charter on the Rights of Elderly in Romania

The White Charter on the Rights of Elderly in Romania is a manifesto document aimed at putting on the public agenda in Romania the subject of active ageing, the rights of the elderly to be cared for in good conditions, at home or wherever they choose, and to continue to have an active life with family and friends.

Population ageing is a significant global trend, and Romania is no exception, facing an ever-increasing ageing population. Hence the need for this document which aims to align, in a common direction, the cooperation and coordination efforts supported by non-governmental organisations, professionals in the field, national and local authorities. It covers practices and policies that need to be updated and that can contribute to a better daily life for older people in Romania.

The document aims to generate fundamental changes in the approach to ageing issues, the vision of ageing and the elderly, and social policies for the elderly, beyond health and care services.

Objectives of The White Charter:

To set strategic guidelines on the rights of the elderly.
To open and maintain dialogue on the rights of older people.
To increase the visibility of the issue of older people in Romania.
To highlight the specific needs and characteristics of older people in Romania, in relation to the organisations working to support them.
To promote recommendations for public policies for the elderly in Romania.

Through the White Charter on the Rights of Elderly in Romania, we insist on the respect of some fundamental rights:

The right to a dignified, autonomous, active and useful old age.
The right to protection and a safe life.
The right to social assistance, quality care and services.
The right to health, medical services, treatment and medical care adapted to the needs of each elderly person.
The right to a a life spent with the family.
The right to information and direct communication, with easy access to digital means of communication.

The White Charter also contains a series of recommendations for improving policies for the protection of the elderly, drawn from the daily practice of SenioriNET representatives (service providers for older people with more than 10 years’ experience in the field).

As a first step, SenioriNET sets out to achieve a series of discussions with the relevant public authorities in order to lead to the creation of a National Agency for Vulnerable Elderly People, with its own authority, subordinated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Solidarity, which would manage the social assistance budget (not the pension budget). Having a public institution that focuses exclusively on the rights of older people in Romania and manages a budget for social assistance other than pensions, increases the chances that many of the issues raised in this document will become achievable.