STATEMENT BY SPECIAL ADVISER TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL ON SPORT FOR DEVELOPMENT AND PEACE, WILFRIED LEMKE, ON SAUDI ARABIAN FEMALE ATHLETES COMPETING AT THE LONDON OLYMPIC GAMES
Statements and Speeches
I warmly welcome the recent decision made by Saudi Arabia to send female athletes to London to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
This decision, following a similar one by Brunei Darussalam and Qatar, marks a significant progress in realizing the right of all to take part in physical and sporting activities, and hence achieving greater gender equality in sport.
The UN family, the Olympic Movement and their partners have long joined their forces to promote the participation of women in sports activities and competitions, as well as in management and leadership roles. This is for instance reflected in the fact that today, at the Olympics, participation of athletes is almost equally balanced between women and men.
Women and girls still face today a great deal of discrimination and marginalization in all sectors of society around the world. This saddening reality applies to the world of sport, despite the remarkable advances made in that area over the past decades.
The practice of sport and physical activity, at all levels, can have immense benefits for individuals, communities and societies. No one should, on the basis of gender, race, ability, age, culture or religious considerations, be denied access to sport and miss on the positive effects its practice can bring.
Decisions such as the one taken today by the Saudi Arabian authorities definitely set a positive example and bring us gradually closer to the realization of a more equitable future, on and off the field of play.
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Note to Editors:
Access to and participation in sporting activities have long been recognized by the international community as fundamental rights, specifically in Article 1 of the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, adopted in 1978, stating that “the practice of physical education and sport is a fundamental right for all”.
Since its inception, the United Nations has fought for the protection and enforcement of women’s rights, for gender equality and for the empowerment of women and girls. Among the purposes of the UN declared in Article 1 of its Charter is “to achieve international co-operation in […] promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. The target date for achieving the MDGs is 2015. MDG n°3 aims at “promoting gender equality and empowering women”. Sport has been recognised as a viable and practical tool to assist in the achievement of the MDGs.
“Working with and for women” is also one of the imperatives outlined in the UN Secretary-General’s Five-Year Action Agenda presented this past January, following his re-election.
The Olympic Charter explicitly states that “the practice of sport is a human right” and that “every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit”. It also states that “any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”
The 5th World Conference on Women and Sport, organized by the International Olympic Committee and attended by several UN officials, including Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke, took place on 16-17 February 2012 in Los Angeles, California. In the declaration which was adopted by the participants, it is mentioned that “the promotion of women’s participation in sports activities, management and administration should, and must, serve the wider goal of supporting the international agenda of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.”
About the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace:
Mr. Wilfried Lemke, of Germany, was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace on 11 April 2008, serving on a $1 per year salary with the rank of Under-Secretary-General. In this role, the Special Adviser aims to reach out further to the world of sport and more systematically and coherently encourage the use of sport the pursuit of development cooperation, humanitarian aid and peace-building efforts.
Media Contact:
Antoine Tardy, Advocacy and Communications Officer
UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace
media.unosdp(at)unog.ch / +41 (0)22 917 47 12
For use of the information media; not an official record
M12/028E
(ISSUED AS RECEIVED), Geneva, 12 July 2012
I warmly welcome the recent decision made by Saudi Arabia to send female athletes to London to compete in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games.
This decision, following a similar one by Brunei Darussalam and Qatar, marks a significant progress in realizing the right of all to take part in physical and sporting activities, and hence achieving greater gender equality in sport.
The UN family, the Olympic Movement and their partners have long joined their forces to promote the participation of women in sports activities and competitions, as well as in management and leadership roles. This is for instance reflected in the fact that today, at the Olympics, participation of athletes is almost equally balanced between women and men.
Women and girls still face today a great deal of discrimination and marginalization in all sectors of society around the world. This saddening reality applies to the world of sport, despite the remarkable advances made in that area over the past decades.
The practice of sport and physical activity, at all levels, can have immense benefits for individuals, communities and societies. No one should, on the basis of gender, race, ability, age, culture or religious considerations, be denied access to sport and miss on the positive effects its practice can bring.
Decisions such as the one taken today by the Saudi Arabian authorities definitely set a positive example and bring us gradually closer to the realization of a more equitable future, on and off the field of play.
– Ends –
Follow us at www.un.org/sport and on Facebook I Twitter I Youtube I Flickr
Note to Editors:
Access to and participation in sporting activities have long been recognized by the international community as fundamental rights, specifically in Article 1 of the International Charter of Physical Education and Sport, adopted in 1978, stating that “the practice of physical education and sport is a fundamental right for all”.
Since its inception, the United Nations has fought for the protection and enforcement of women’s rights, for gender equality and for the empowerment of women and girls. Among the purposes of the UN declared in Article 1 of its Charter is “to achieve international co-operation in […] promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion.”
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were established at the UN Millennium Summit in September 2000. The target date for achieving the MDGs is 2015. MDG n°3 aims at “promoting gender equality and empowering women”. Sport has been recognised as a viable and practical tool to assist in the achievement of the MDGs.
“Working with and for women” is also one of the imperatives outlined in the UN Secretary-General’s Five-Year Action Agenda presented this past January, following his re-election.
The Olympic Charter explicitly states that “the practice of sport is a human right” and that “every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit”. It also states that “any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement.”
The 5th World Conference on Women and Sport, organized by the International Olympic Committee and attended by several UN officials, including Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke, took place on 16-17 February 2012 in Los Angeles, California. In the declaration which was adopted by the participants, it is mentioned that “the promotion of women’s participation in sports activities, management and administration should, and must, serve the wider goal of supporting the international agenda of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.”
About the Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace:
Mr. Wilfried Lemke, of Germany, was appointed by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as his Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace on 11 April 2008, serving on a $1 per year salary with the rank of Under-Secretary-General. In this role, the Special Adviser aims to reach out further to the world of sport and more systematically and coherently encourage the use of sport the pursuit of development cooperation, humanitarian aid and peace-building efforts.
Media Contact:
Antoine Tardy, Advocacy and Communications Officer
UN Office on Sport for Development and Peace
media.unosdp(at)unog.ch / +41 (0)22 917 47 12
For use of the information media; not an official record
M12/028E