Sport unites all 193 Member States at the UN General Assembly

The United Nations (UN) General Assembly has highlighted the role of sport for sustainable development by passing a resolution entitled “ Sport as an Enabler of Sustainable Development ” by consensus of all 193 UN Member States. Resolution A/79/L.10 supports the overarching mission of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to be a unifying force, bringing the world together in peaceful competition with no discrimination whatsoever. This unifying mission was also highlighted by IOC President Thomas Bach in his address to the UN General Assembly.

“Please accept my heartfelt thanks on the adoption of this resolution by consensus, demonstrating once again that sport can bring us all together. I am especially grateful to the Group of Friends of Sport and all Member States for recognising once more the autonomy and political neutrality of the IOC,” the IOC President said.

He continued: “Rest assured, we will use this autonomy responsibly to promote the values we share with the UN: Universality. Equality. Non-discrimination. Rule of Law. Solidarity. And above all: Peace. As Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, whom I thank very much for his very supportive report, has said: ‘The Olympic spirit is the most important symbol of peace in today’s world.’”

This symbol could become a reality at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 only because the IOC exercised fully its autonomy and political neutrality, Bach emphasised: “In Paris, athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team competed fiercely against each other. At the same time, they lived peacefully together under one roof in the Olympic Village. Despite many of their countries being at war, the athletes respected one another. The athletes showed us how our world would be if we all were to live in the Olympic spirit of peaceful coexistence. They created a culture of peace.”

Paris was the culmination of a decade of the ever-deepening partnership between the UN and the IOC, said the IOC President. “In 2014, the UN and the IOC signed an MoU, marking the start of a new era of unprecedented cooperation. In 2015, sport was recognised as an ‘important enabler’ for the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and in 2020 sport was declared a ‘global accelerator for peace and development’. We consider peace as the most important SDG. Our mission is to create a culture of peace, by bringing together athletes from the entire world, even if their countries are at war.”

The IOC President highlighted that “at the Olympic Games, we are all equal, regardless of background or nationality. There is no ‘global south’ or ‘global north’. There is only one global village: the Olympic Village. Everybody who respects the rules of the Olympic Charter is welcome at the Olympic Games.”

In this context, he corrected a false narrative accusing the IOC of discrimination and politicisation by sanctioning the Russian Olympic Committee. “The fact is, we had to suspend them because the Russian Olympic Committee annexed sports organisations on the territory of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. This violation of territorial integrity is a blatant breach of our Olympic Charter – as it would be of the Charter of the United Nations. Despite this suspension, the IOC granted the Russian athletes the privilege to participate in Paris with a neutral status, meaning with no reference to their suspended National Olympic Committee and its symbols.”

He continued: “We know that sport cannot create peace. Peace can only be created by you, the political leaders. This is why I appeal to you to heed this call of the athletes: Give peace a chance.”

In his speech, the IOC President also encouraged UN Member States to replicate the successful international model of cooperation between the UN and the IOC at their national level. “Engage with your National Olympic Committee and make sport an integral part of your development plans. In doing so, we can create a win-win situation to achieve our common goals,” he said.

Bach also called for the global regulation of Artificial Intelligence (AI): “I appeal to the UN to take the lead in creating such global AI regulation, preserving human dignity and ensuring equitable progress.” The IOC is harnessing the benefits of AI for sport in a responsible way through its Olympic AI Agenda, which was launched in April this year.

Closing his last speech as IOC President to the UN General Assembly, Thomas Bach thanked the UN “for a decade of partnership and friendship. It has been an honour to share this journey with you, united by our belief in the shared values of the UN and the IOC. I humbly ask you to offer my successor the same spirit of partnership in order to make the world a better place through sport – together.”

UN Resolution A/79/L.10 entitled “Sport as an Enabler of Sustainable Development” was tabled on the occasion of the General Assembly’s debate on the biennial report of the Secretary-General entitled “United By Our Common Goals – Ensuring the Impact of Sport on Sustainable Development and Peace” (A/79/289).

Among other things, the UN resolution:

“Recognises that the sport sector can contribute to addressing the adverse impacts of climate change.”

“Recognises that sport, including sport for persons with disabilities and persons living with rare diseases, has an important role to play in the promotion of peace and development, physical and mental health, gender equality, the empowerment of women and girls, respect for human rights, and the fight against racism and racial discrimination.”

Is “acknowledging the Olympic Charter”.

“Welcomes the memorandum of understanding signed between the International Olympic Committee and the United Nations in April 2014, in which a call was made to strengthen efforts around sport-based initiatives that encourage social and economic development, as well as to strengthen the many partnerships that United Nations organisations have established with the Committee.”

“Affirms the invaluable contribution of the Olympic and Paralympic movements in establishing sport as a unique means for the promotion of peace and development.”

“Calls upon future hosts of such Games and other Member States to include sport, as appropriate, in conflict prevention activities and to ensure the effective implementation of the Olympic Truce during the Games.”

“Recognises that major international sport events should be organised in the spirit of peace, mutual understanding and international cooperation, friendship and tolerance, and without discrimination of any kind, and that the unifying and conciliative nature of such events should be respected.”

“Recognises the growing contribution of sport to the realisation of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to physical and mental health, education and social inclusion objectives.”

“Encourages all relevant stakeholders to emphasise and advance the use of sport as a vehicle to foster sustainable development and, inter alia, strengthen education, (…) promote tolerance, mutual understanding and respect and facilitate social inclusion, conflict prevention and peacebuilding.”

“Encourages Member States to integrate sport and quality physical education and activity into national strategies for sustainable development.”

“Encourages Member States to use, in accordance with their national priorities, sport as a lever for education and employment, for health and nutrition, for gender equality and inclusion of persons with disabilities, for sustainability and hosting major sporting events, and for financing and measuring impact of sport for sustainable development.”

“Supports the independence and autonomy of sport as well as the mission of the International Olympic Committee in leading the Olympic Movement and of the International Paralympic Committee in leading the Paralympic Movement.”