Why in News?

• Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment left for Seoul (Korea) for the 3rd ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) Conference on ‘Global Ageing and Human Rights of Older Persons’.
• The experience gained from the Conference will be beneficial for Policy formulation and implementation for welfare of senior citizens.

3rd ASEM Conference:

• The 3-day Conference will reaffirm the universal value of the human rights of older persons.
•   It aims to share information on discrimination against the elderly and exemplary cases of long-term and palliative care in Asia and Europe.
•  It will also discuss operation and tasks of the ASEM Global Ageing Centre as an implementing institution for mutual cooperation among ASEM members for the protection and promotion of the human rights of older persons.

Asia–Europe Meeting:

• The ASEM is an Asian–European political dialogue forum to enhance relations and various forms of cooperation between its partners.
•  It was officially established on 1 March 1996 at the first summit in Bangkok, Thailand, by the then 15 members of the European Union (EU) and the European Commission, the then 7 members of the ASEAN and the individual countries of China, Japan, and Korea.
•  A series of enlargements saw additional EU members join as well as India, Mongolia, Pakistan and the ASEAN Secretariat in 2008, Australia, New Zealand and the Russian Federation in 2010, Bangladesh, Norway, and Switzerland in 2012 as well as Croatia and Kazakhstan in 2014.
• The main components of the ASEM process rest on the following 3 pillars:
  • Political & Security Pillar
  • Economic & Financial Pillar
  • Social, Cultural & Educational Pillar