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The Coalition for the Dignity of the Elderly endorses the approval of the Special Law for the Protection of the Rights of the Elderly, which was recently approved by the Legislative Assembly.
It qualifies as very important to be able to attend the reality of the elderly, who are already 1 million 200 thousand in El Salvador. The law establishes the set of services and freedoms that the elderly person must have. Even sanctioning measures for physical and psychological abuse that older people may receive.
The coordinator of this Coalition, Emilio Espín, qualifies the aforementioned Law as important, but in his observations he says that it was necessary to include pensions for the large number of people.
“The first problem is that we would have wanted to include the Pension Basica Uuniversal for 1 million people who have nothing after giving everything for their family, their community, his country at war and at peace and is now abandoned and discarded. So, we would like, we insist, but we did not achieve the correlation to include the Pension Basica Universal, therefore, we have to transfer this debate to the Pensions Commission of the Legislative Assembly ”, says Espín.
The Coalition for the Dignity of the Elderly will carry out an awareness and empowerment campaign aimed at older adults so that they know the law, defend it and demand their rights.
Espín says that the most important aspect of this law is the focus on rights and not on charity and pity that has traditionally and historically been taken in the country towards this sector of the population.
“It is very important to have an institutional framework that is not anachronistic, emotional, that does not truly respond to the current demand of 1,200,000 older people. With more competence, with autonomy, with a budget, capable and sufficient equipment to meet this enormous demand in the country. Also, as I said, the issue of sanctioning measures is also an important step because it allows protecting the elderly from any abuse or mistreatment and of course, the health issue is vital, at that age, as well as all the complementary services of care, attention, freedom, decision of the elderly person, which must be respected, etc. On the economic issue there are no advances in the law because the pension issue is being discussed in a special commission ”, said Espín.
The Coalition adds that this law is a first step but now we have to continue with the Presidential House so that it can see it and approve it and later the implementation regulations are developed, with their respective budget, although it is executed gradually, every year.
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