The document analyzes the existing international human rights framework's protection of older people's rights. It finds that while several core UN human rights treaties and regional instruments reference rights relevant to older persons, they provide an inconsistent and imbalanced focus on only a narrow range of civil and political rights. Specifically, there are gaps in prohibiting age discrimination and capturing discriminatory practices faced by older people. The document argues that a new UN convention would provide a definitive, universal standard to legally bind protection of older persons' rights and ensure clarity for duty bearers and rights holders. It would also help consolidate existing rights standards and address the current imbalance toward economic and social rights.