General Assembly 3 Committee – Social and Humanitarian Topic

Contra Costa County Model United Nations 2012
Committee: General Assembly 3 rd Committee – Social and Humanitarian
Topic: Promoting Peace through Sport
Topic Background
Daley Thompson, a British Olympian stated, "When we stage the Olympics, it will inspire
kids all over the country. A kid in Scotland or Ireland will be encouraged to take up a sport." 1
Sports unite cultures without regard to their cultural make up and push humanity toward finding
peace through friendly competition. Every four years, the Olympics are held in a new location
where the international community meets casually and challenges one another with the best
and the brightest athletes from their nations. The sports not only provide a sense of
national pride for all those supporting from afar, but they encourage a spirit of
sportsmanship, healthy living and unification. Though the Olympic Truce requests a
momentary peace between countries in conflict during the two week period of
competition, it is easy to see that this focus distracts greatly from any need for war and
could be used as a stronger tool to promote peace between nations. Children involved in
sports and recreational activities at young ages begin to understand the ideas of teamwork
and competition in great depth. If children were given a better idea of what goes on in the
world around them and were taught these lessons in correlation with their physical
activities, peace could easily be promoted from the time children enter their first
practices.
Past Actions
It was decided in 2010 that sports were considered a huge stepping-stone in reaching all
of the Millennium Development Goals for world peace because of the large, positive
impact that it leaves with people. Sports and exercise were identified as natural rights for
citizens by 1978 within the UN Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2 The
committee on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men under the Council of Europe
seeks to improve the availability and fairness between women and men and provides a
framework for other nations to follow. 3 Though sports have been recognized as a
valuable tool in reaching world peace, it is not one that is taken seriously enough. The
international community sees the effects that it has on the people and society and general,
but it is not something that is given enough credit or use. Sports provide unseen
opportunities for life improvement in nations filled with poverty, and those citizens need
organized sports to help them escape.

2005 was identified as the International Year of Sport and Physical Education. Fourteen
different NGO's worked to promote peace through sport around the world. 4 One of these,
Athletes United for Peace (AUP) has worked since 1998 as an NGO through UNICEF
and UNESCO. AUP spreads media supporting participation in sports and their hope for a
peaceful world because of it. They also hold events and bring people together through the
love of sport. 5 AUP is limited in its reach, however, and though other programs have
been established to work within more areas of the international community, there is an
obvious need for a greater expansion of these programs.
Possible Solutions
SOCHUM works under the General Assembly to analyze social, humanitarian and
cultural struggles within the international community, specifically in conflict zones.
Sports have been widely seen as an under appreciated tool for finding peace between
nations, and therefore, need to be strengthened in the eyes of the UN. There is a history,
however, in a number of nations who rank high in the Olympics, whose government
punishes athletes who do not perform up to par. This will be an important point in
committee depending on what nations are present. This irony is one that would not be
able to be maintained if sports are to be used as a universal tool toward peace. Nations in
conflict or suffering from poverty also do not have the means or the proper assistance to
pursue this more positive method of education. A more collective effort would have to be
made in order for athletics to truly be recognized as an effective method of finding peace
between nations.
Sports can become so easily incorporated into a community, however, they are rarely
seen as something essential to the improvement of society. This is a state of mind that
must be changed. Sometimes international conflicts become so complex, it is easy to
overlook the simplest and most logical tools of creating peace.
Further Research
Questions to consider:
• How does your nation currently implement sports and athletics within society
• What sort of conflicts is your country currently involved in and could sports be
used in any way to promote peace
• Does your nation currently work with any NGO's that support physical activity in
a peaceful manner
Resources:
• United Nations sports for development and peace:

http://www.un.org/wcm/content/site/sport/home/unplayers/memberstates/pid/1600
8
• Promoting peace through sport: http://www.olympic.org/peace-through-sport
• Sports and Social Change: http://www.sportsandsocialchange.org/
i
i 1 Thompson, Daley. "Olympic Quotes." About.com Quotations. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Aug. 2012.
.
2 "UN Unveils New Website Promoting Peace through Sport." UN News Center. UN, 19 Feb. 2010. Web. 19 Aug.
2012. .
3 Council of Europe. "Parliamentary Assembly." N.p., 29 Mar. 2005. Web. 19 Aug. 2012.
.
4 "NGOs Who's Involved, United Nation’s International Year of Sport and Physical Education 2005." UN News
Center. UN, n.d. Web. 19 Aug. 2012. .
5 "Athletes United for Peace's Mission." Athletes United for Peace's Mission. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Aug. 2012.
.