UN proclaimed an International Day of Care and Support

The United Nations General Assembly, through a groundbreaking resolution, has proclaimed an International Day of Care and Support, to be commemorated on 29 October.

Volunteer from an Intergenerational Self-Help Club provide home care service to an older person with difficult circumstance

The resolution calls upon Member States, the UN system, civil society, the private sector, academia, and the public to observe the international day annually. It acknowledges the disproportionate burden of unpaid care and domestic work on women and girls and highlights the need to address these structural barriers, which hinder women’s empowerment.

The care economy

Care work, both paid and unpaid, is crucial to the future of decent work. Growing populations, ageing societies, changing families, women’s secondary status in labour markets and shortcomings in social policies demand urgent action on the organization of care work from governments, employers, trade unions and individual citizens. If not adequately addressed, current deficits in care service provision and its quality will create a severe and unsustainable global care crisis and increase gender inequalities at work.

Care work consists of two overlapping activities: direct, personal and relational care activities, such as feeding a baby or nursing an ill partner; and indirect care activities, such as cooking and cleaning. Unpaid care work is care work provided without a monetary reward by unpaid carers. Unpaid care is considered as work and is thus a crucial dimension of the world of work. Paid care work is performed for pay or profit by care workers. They comprise a wide range of personal service workers, such as nurses, teachers, doctors and personal care workers. Domestic workers, who provide both direct and indirect care in households, are also part of the care workforce.

The care economy is growing as the demand for childcare and care for the elderly is increasing in all regions. It will thus create a great number of jobs in the coming years. However, care work across the world remains characterised by a void of benefits and protections, low wages or non-compensation, and exposure to physical, mental and, in some cases, sexual harm. It is clear that new solutions to care are needed on two fronts: in regards to the nature and provision of care policies and services, and the terms and conditions of care work.

International Day of Care and Support

Mindful of the need to invest in the care economy and to create robust, resilient and gender-responsive, disability-inclusive and age-sensitive care and support systems with full respect for human rights with a view to recognizing, reducing, valuing and redistributing unpaid care and domestic work and support, the General Assembly decided to proclaim 29 October as International Day of Care and Support.

The resolution also explicitly:

Recognises that ‘comprehensive care and support policies aimed at reducing, redistributing and valuing unpaid care and domestic work are conducive to the well-being of society and all its members, in particular children, older persons and persons with disabilities, and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls’
Recognises that ‘support is an integral part of being able to live independently and being included in the community, and recognizing further the importance of increasing the resilience of older persons, persons with disabilities and persons living with mental health conditions’
Acknowledges ‘the accelerated global trend of ageing of the population, which will require more care work and support’ and stresses ‘the need to promote and strengthen the estimation of the caregiving contribution and other activities of older persons to the economy, including recognition of unpaid care for family members, in particular by older women, and to ensure that national statistics in this regard inform policymaking

In marking the 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, I called upon States to take concrete steps towards establishing support and care systems that are human rights-based, gender-responsive, disability-inclusive, and age-sensitive. Today, we celebrate the General Assembly’s establishment of the United Nations observance of the International Day of Care and Support. This international day shows the importance of building towards care and support systems that protect the rights of those providing and receiving care and support, and as a key lever to sustainable development.
Mr. Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights

This milestone achievement reflects the collective recognition of the pivotal role that paid and unpaid care and domestic work play in ensuring the wellbeing of societies, strengthened economies and increased development. I hope that all Member States use this UN day of observance to raise awareness, improve policies, and scale up investments to transform the care economy and advance gender equality.
Ms. Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women

Adopting this resolution marks a significant step towards advocating for the development of human rights-based, gender transformative, and age and disability responsive long-term care and support systems and services that enable us all to enjoy dignity and wellbeing at all ages.