7th World Congress Recap

• Pages: 20-21
• Date: 01 January 2025
• Published date: 01 January 2025
• Author: Sally Balch Hurme, J.D.
• Subject Matter: Administrative & Public Law

Bifocal 46 Issue 3

20

Every two years since 2010 elder and dis-

ability rights advocates from around the

world have convened an international

conference that is designed to strengthen un-

derstanding of the international standards that

protect the daily exercise of rights by adults

with disabilities and older persons and to en-

hance their independent living.

Initially called the World Congress on Adult

Guardianship, the name of the Congress has

changed to the World Congress on Adult Sup-

port and Care. This change reects the reality

that much of the world has moved away from

guardianship to supported decision making.

The international emphasis on adult capacity

and self-autonomy ows from the United Na-

tions Convention on the Rights of Persons with

Disabilities (2006). Its Article 12 states that

persons with disabilities enjoy legal capacity

on an equal basis with others in all aspects of

life and that appropriate measures should be

taken to provide access by persons with dis-

abilities to the support they may require in ex-

ercising their legal capacity. Although the United States

Senate did not ratify this UN convention, twenty-eight

states have now adopted laws that formally endorse

supported decision-making agreements or that recog-

nize supported decision-making as a less restrictive al-

ternative to guardianship.

The seventh World Congress on Adult Support and

Care was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, August 27th

to 30th, 2024. This was the rst time that a World Con-

gress was held in a Latin American country. Prior Con-

gresses have been held in Australia, Germany, Japan,

Korea and Scotland, with the United States being the

host country in 2014.

From left to right: Maria Eugenia Torres, Alicia Ra-

jmil, Isolina Davove, Sandra Torres and María Mer-

cedes Córdoba

This was the largest Congress to date with approximate-

ly 600 participants from 32 nations and all continents.

The home countries of the participants included Argen-

tina, Austria, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile,

Columbia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Egypt, England, France,

Germany, Honduras, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg,

Mexico, Netherlands, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Scot-

land, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Suriname, Swit-

zerland, Uruguay, and the United States. The United

7th World Congress Recap

By Sally Balch Hurme, J.D.