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52nd Plenary Meeting of General Assembly 71st Session
Heralded in ancient times for its ability to bring warring parties together, modern sport could be a powerful enabler of sustainable development and a tool for empowering young people, the General Assembly heard this morning.
General Assembly President Peter Thomson (Fiji) said the ancient Greek tradition of the Olympic Truce — a temporary ceasefire to enable athletes and spectators to travel and compete safely in the Olympic Games — was premised on the recognition of sport as a tool for building peace and goodwill. Throughout time, sport had helped to build the confidence and strength of young people, persons with disabilities and minority groups, and empower young women and girls. Across the world, sport had been used to advance peace and reconciliation and had the power to transcend borders and inspire all. Commending the promotion efforts of the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, he quoted Nelson Mandela as having said that sport was more powerful than government in breaking down barriers.
The Permanent Observer for the International Olympic Committee to the United Nations said sport could be a powerful tool for promoting gender equality, pointing out that the world was moving closer to seeing 50 per cent female participation in the Olympic Games. At the Rio Olympic Games, for example, more women had competed than ever before, accounting for 45 per cent of the athletes, he noted. Making sport accessible to all remained a major priority, he added. However, sport could only build bridges if its autonomy and neutrality continued to be respected, he emphasized.
As the Assembly considered the Secretary-General’s report on sport for development and peace (document A/71/179), several speakers provided examples of the power of sport. Cuba’s representative recalled that following her country’s 1959 revolution, sport — once the dominion of a privileged few — had become part of the education of all children from an early age. Cuba had also provided countries of the global South with sports teachers, coaches and trainers, in addition to helping develop deep ties of friendship among peoples.
Some delegates cautioned against the exploitation of sport for other purposes. The Russian Federation’s representative warned against the “dangerous trend” of political interference in sports, as seen in the baseless allegations levelled against his country before the Sochi Olympic Games. More recently, the unprecedented and highly political decision to ban the Russian Federation’s entire Paralympic team had dealt a blow to the prestige of world sports in general, he said. Condemning the tacit international acceptance of doping by some athletes, he described it as particularly hypocritical against the backdrop of the ban on Russian Federation athletes.
Yet, sport could be used in nation-building, some speakers said. Cambodia’s representative spotlighted his country’s use of sport to rebuild following decades of conflict. The 1960s were considered the golden era of Cambodia’s sport, but civil war had destroyed the country, including the sporting arena. However, the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports and the National Olympic Committee of Cambodia had been strengthening and expanding sport infrastructure, including by introducing sport into schools, upgrading sport fields and equipping sports clubs.
Echoing that sentiment, Israel’s representative said sport could foster a future of peaceful coexistence, emphasizing that nowhere was the unifying power of sport more evident than on Israel’s national sports teams, in which Muslims, Jews and Christians all wore the same uniform.
Singapore’s representative stressed that sport was an enduring source of inspiration for all, highlighting his country’s disability sports master plan aimed at facilitating participation in sport and enabling those with disabilities to adopt an active lifestyle.
Several delegations expressed condolences to Brazil over the deaths of members of that country’s Chapecoense soccer team in a plane crash last week.
Also speaking today were representatives of Monaco, Australia, Qatar, India and Brazil.
In other business, the Assembly took up a draft resolution titled “Investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him” (document A/71/L.25). Presented the representative of Sweden, it requests that the Secretary-General appoint an eminent person to review the potential new information — including that which might be made available by Member States — to assess its probative value, determine the scope that any further inquiry or investigation should take and, if possible, draw conclusions from investigations already conducted. The Assembly was expected to take action on that draft resolution later this month.
