New York – Information Office – 02 December
The United Nations General Assembly adopted at its 75th session a resolution by consensus that considers "Sport: a global accelerator of peace and sustainable development," a resolution that the State of Qatar and the Principality of Monaco presented in their capacity as co-Chairs of the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development.
The resolution was adopted by 95 countries. The General Assembly reaffirmed that sport is an important factor in achieving sustainable development. It recognizes the growing contribution that sport is making to achieving development and peace, given its role in promoting tolerance and respect and its contribution to empowering women, youth, individuals and communities and achieving the desired goals in the areas of physical and mental health, education and social integration.
Since the adoption of the resolution coincided with the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic on the world, the General Assembly considered that the pandemic has greatly affected all aspects of sport, as it disrupted sport events and affected the sports supply chains related to the working conditions of athletes, management of sport events, mass gatherings and the occupational safety and health. On the other hand it restricted access to physical activity and education, which pose major challenges to the physical and mental health and well-being of individuals, families and their communities.
The General Assembly encouraged the Member States to include sport and physical activity in their post-COVID-19 recovery plans, integrate sport and physical activity into national sustainable development strategies and make effective use of all opportunities and values offered by sport in implementing the 2030 Agenda. And in order to implement the sustainable development goals, the United Nations system is encouraged to support Member States in these efforts.
In its resolution, the General Assembly called on the United Nations system to strengthen the provision of capacity development services, technical cooperation and financial assistance to support the formulation and implementation of national policies and approaches to maximize the contributions of sport to development, peace and sport for everyone.