Remarks by the High Representative
for the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC)
Mr. Miguel Moratinos
at the High-Level Meeting on
Preventing Violent Extremism through Sport Values
18 September 2020
Your Excellency, Under Secretary General Vladimir Voronkov, Office of Counter Terrorism,
Your Excellency, Amb Alya Al Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar
Your Excellency, Amb Geng Shuang, Deputy Permanent Representative of People’s Republic of China,
Your Excellency, Amb Chull-joo Park , Deputy Permanent Representative of the Republic of Korea,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Good Morning.
UNAOC is very proud of its partnership with UNOCT, UNICRI, ICSS and other civil society organizations in this important program. I also take the opportunity to applaud the governments of Qatar, China and South Korea for placing sport in the forefront of their agendas.
I hope that our contribution to this Global Programme complements the security governance component with activities and initiatives that highlight the role of sport in facilitating the integration of vulnerable communities and as such it helps in the prevention of violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
To this end, in UNAOC Action Plan 2019-2021, sport is featured as one of the new priority areas. Since then, we have initiated new partnerships with renown soccer clubs and sport entities. Here’s briefly where we are now:
1. We launched the #OneHumanity Campaign” in partnership with Fundación Atlético de Madrid, La Liga, The Global Association of Sports Federations (GAISF) The campaign aims at enforcing the notion of sports as an equalizer for social inclusion bringing people together from diverse cultures, religions and ethnicities. It also capitalizes on the star power of sport celebrities and engage them as role models for young people especially in the underprivileged neighborhoods.
2. UNAOC will implement with partners in the UNOCT Global Program on a number of activities including: the Global Symposium and global network of National focal points and regional focal points to enhance the exchange of information, best practices and experiences.
3. Capacity Building Framework for Policy Makers and technical assistance to support member states PCVE efforts and UNAOC stands ready to collaborate with all state actors.
4. Best practices: Policies on Sports for Prevention of Violent extremism. I look forward to the outcome of the Expert Group Meeting on Sports and CPVE that will take place on 21to 23 September and the report that will be produced by the group.
5. Supporting local Initiatives aimed at using sport and its values to prevent violent extremism conducive to terrorism.
In all above-mentioned programs, UNAOC will capitalize on its broad youth network as I firmly believe that supporting and empowering youth-led organizations whose work aim at strengthening peace-building capacities and promoting diversity and inclusiveness is one way of addressing the root causes of violent extremism conducive to terrorism. This is aligned with the UN Security Council resolution 2535 calling on UN entities to improve capacity building by integrating youth, peace and security agenda into their technical assistance plans.
The UN General Assembly Resolution A/73/24 reminds us that sports, the arts and physical activity have the power to change perceptions, prejudices and behaviours, as well as to inspire people, break down racial and political barriers, combat discrimination and defuse conflict. The resolution acknowledges that sport is an important enabler of sustainable development, and 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.
Concluding, I leave you with the promo of the One Humanity Campaign that we launched with Fundación Atlético de Madrid.
Thank you.