Sport makes the world a better place

The first resolution on sport, which the United Nations is voting on, is designed to make the world a better and more peaceful place.

The basics were laid down in a report by UN special adviser, Adolf Ogi, and the head of the children’s charity Unicef, Carol Bellamy.

The report says that sport is seen as an unproductive, unintellectual and therefore unimportant component of education in at least 126 countries.

The UN resolution is hoping to fight this attitude and will also support the UN Millennium programme, whose goal is to halve global poverty by 2015.

For the UN, football, basketball, swimming or ballet are ways of preventing conflict.

With so-called goodwill ambassadors like football stars Ronaldo and Zidane, the UN wants to elevate the profile of sport.

These ambassadors use their popularity to highlight issues which form part of the UN’s remit such as fighting Aids, drugs, poverty and racism, as well as supporting gender equality.

Ogi’s report also stresses that worldwide more than 60 per cent of deaths and 40 per cent of illnesses are linked to a lack of physical movement. Ogi wants to make it clear to governments that sports can reduce health costs.

The report also says that women and girls all over the world do less sport. One reason is that in many countries they do not have the same practice facilities as men and boys.

Under the motto “sport is a human right”, UN agencies are working to correct this imbalance.

swissinfo, Etienne Strebel