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What does sport have to do with the UN?
The fundamental principles of sport --respect for opponents and for rules, teamwork and fair play-- are consistent with the principles of the United Nations Charter.
Sport plays a role in communities large and small. From informal recreational matches and contests, to organized sports leagues and federations, people participate: they play, coach, train, and support their favourite athletes and teams. From indigenous sports to global sporting events, sport has "convening power". Where opportunities for recreational sport and play are absent, individuals and entire communities are often acutely aware of what they are missing.
Sport can contribute to economic and social development, improving health and personal growth in people of all ages --particularly those of young people. Sport-related activities can generate employment and economic activity at many levels.
Sport can also help build a culture of peace and tolerance by bringing people together on common ground, crossing national and other boundaries to promote understanding and mutual respect.
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Joining forces to serve humanity
For many years the United Nations, its funds, programmes and related specialized agencies have acknowledged the importance of sport in society. United Nations bodies have enlisted star athletes and major sporting events in campaigns to promote immunization against childhood diseases and other public health measures, to support the fight against racism and apartheid, and for human rights. The right to play and to participate in sports have been embodied in United Nations instruments like the Convention on the Rights of the Child and The Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.
During the past decade relations between the United Nations and civil society have grown in every respect. Relations with the sports world have reflected this trend. Since 1993 the General Assembly has adopted a succession of resolutions endorsing the Olympic Truce and development of the relationship with the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The IOC and National Olympic Committees (NOCs) have concluded cooperation agreements with a number of United Nations programmes and funds, including UNICEF, the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) to bring the benefits of sport to refugees and others affected by conflict, and to fight social exclusion and environmental degradation.
Other sports organizations have also lent their support to UN efforts in the field. The International Volleyball Federation has supported programmes for refugees, while the International Federation of Football Association (FIFA) has established working relationships with WHO and UNICEF for campaigns against polio and for the Rights of the Child, respectively. The USA National Basketball Association has supported UN anti-drug abuse campaigns. An increasing number of non-governmental organizations at the local, national and international levels are joining forces with United Nations offices and field operations to organize promote development, health, human rights and peace through sporting events. Acknowledging the growing potential of these partnerships, in 2001 the Secretary-General appointed for the first time a Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Adolf Ogi of Switzerland.
The UN is bringing the power of sport to help in the global fight against HIV/AIDS and to preserve the environment. Independent specialized agencies of the broader United Nations system like the International Labour Organization (ILO), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) have also focused on the value of sport in their fields of work. UNESCO adopted an International Charter of Physical Education and Sport in 1978 as a result of its work with the IOC. Since 1984 WHO has engaged with the sporting world to promote a healthy lifestyle, the benefits of regular physical activity and fight tobacco use. The ILO, as part of its activities to ensure decent working conditions has worked with other UN bodies [governments and sports organizations] through a series of partnerships in which sport is a central element for promoting social and economic development. There are many more examples of the growing collaboration between sports organizations and other NGOs, UN system bodies and governments using sport to improve the lives of people and communities.
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Goal! Sport and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
In March 2003 a task force of experts from the United Nations and several specialized agencies submitted to Secretary-General Kofi Annan a report containing recommendations for an increased role of sport to realize United Nations efforts for development and peace. The task force concentrated, in particular, on the Millennium Development Goals, eight commitments approved in the year 2000 by the largest-ever gathering of Heads of State in history to fight improve the lives of the world's people-particularly the poorest and most vulnerable. On receiving the report of the task force the Secretary-General said its work and report were "important steps towards making more effective use of sport to improve the lives of the people-and particularly young people-served by the United Nations and its related programmes and agencies."
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