The tangible contributions of sport to the SDGs

On 6 April, the United Nations celebrates the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. This annual observance, proclaimed by the sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly on 23 August 2013 (resolution 67/296), underscores the power of sport to drive social change, community and human development, and to foster peace and understanding both in developed and developing countries.

Sport has been on the United Nations agenda since 1993, when the General Assembly adopted its first resolutions entitled “International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal” (resolution 48/10) and “Observance of the Olympic Truce” (resolution 48/11). Every two years, the Assembly adopts a resolution on “Sport as an enabler of sustainable development” and every other two years, a resolution on “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, ahead of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The contribution of sport was further recognized in the Declaration on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the General Assembly in resolution 70/1 of 25 September 2015, which emphasizes that “sport is an important enabler of sustainable development”. The Declaration also recognizes “the growing contribution of sport to the realization 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 health, education, and social inclusion objectives”.

Unfortunately, this year’s celebration comes in the devastating wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, with severe pressure placed on public health systems, emergency services and the global economy. The United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has stated that “our world is facing an unprecedented threat, and the United Nations is facing one of the biggest challenges in our history.” The global sports landscape has also been altered significantly, from playing games behind closed doors to canceling events, with the Tokyo 2020 Olympics postponed until 2021. The pandemic has shaken the sports world, with social distancing being the best way so far to protect oneself and others.

Now more than ever, we need to celebrate the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace and the power of sport to change the world, as Nelson Mandela reminded us. If sport teaches us anything it is that teamwork is essential and that together we are stronger. In the same way, we shall overcome COVID-19 if we and the rest of the world work together. Likewise, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is a pathway towards a sustainable future for all, leaving no one behind, with peaceful and inclusive societies, and a healthy planet. We can only get there by working together.

• Read the full article on the UN Chronicle website