CHICAGO - Lt. Governor Sheila Simon will support a global approach to protecting the rights of seniors in an address Friday to human rights lawyers in Chicago.
"Elder rights are human rights," Simon said. "I support a cooperative, international approach to protecting our aging populations from abuse, neglect and indignity. I commend the hosts of this conference for leading the way."
Simon will be among the advocates and experts from around the world to speak about the challenges faced by the world's elderly population during the 2014 International Elder Law and Policy Conference at John Marshall Law School. Two billion people will be over age 60 by 2050, nearly 22 percent of the world's population, according to the World Health Organization.
John Marshall and conference co-hosts Roosevelt University, and East China University of Political Science and Law are using the conference to unveil a Chicago Declaration on the Rights of Older Persons. The model declaration promotes equal participation in civil, political, economic, social and cultural life in developing and developed countries.
Simon, a former Jackson County prosecutor and founder of a domestic violence legal clinic at Southern Illinois University, is scheduled to speak on a panel regarding advocacy and access to justice alongside legal professionals from Cook County and China.
She said technology is one key to legal access. The Virtual Legal Clinic, established by her office for rural domestic violence shelters, can connect disadvantaged populations with legal experts online for free.
TIME: 11 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
DATE: Friday, July 11
LOCATION: John Marshall Law School, 315 S. Plymouth Ct., Chicago
###
