No.48 September 2006 |
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There is a danger that as academics working in sport, we are mistakenly
developing the notion that sports are more important than any other
aspects of human existence. This is particularly the case with the relationship
between sport and human rights. As sport academics, we are often guilty
of promoting sport as the panacea for the ills of the world. As a consequence,
we may be losing sight of the bona fide relationship between the protection
of human rights and sport. As David (2005, p.1) remarks in the context
of athletes’ rights:
If we are to understand better how human rights can improve the protection
of all young athletes’ rights, the link between human rights and
sport must be explored attentively.
This is an interesting point and a clear indicator of the lack of careful
research into the links between the protection of human rights and sport,
which are backed up by McArdle & Guiliotti (2006, p.1) who argue
that:
At first glance, the work of organizations like the IOC suggests that
human rights, international development and peace are pivotal to sport.
Sport however, does have strong links with development and peace and
not necessarily human rights as this has been proven by the numerous
projects being carried out across the world in the name of peacemaking
and development. The 2003 Report on the United Nations Interagency Task
Force on Sport for Development and Peace comprehensively documents a
full range of projects that have been pivotal in this regard. However,
there is only a brief mention (p. 4) on the topic of human rights and
sport, and that section only refers specifically to article 1 of the
charter of Physical Education and Sport which was adopted by UNESCO
in 1978. This charter states that:
The practice of physical education and sport is a fundamental human
right for all. It stresses that every person is entitled to participate
in sport, including especially women, young people, the elderly and
the disabled.
The Interagency Task Force was a direct result of the UN Millennium
Development Goals and generated the impetus for the UN 2006 Sport Development
and Peace Report (in print) which highlights the significant projects
developed across the world in the 2005 International Year of Sport and
Physical Education (IYSPE 2005) and which was so successfully developed
by the UN Office of Sport for Development and Peace. Out of this push
for sport and development came some important issues which were debated
at the 2nd Magglingen Conference on Sport for Development, the 2005
United Nations World Summit, The World Conference for Peace, Solidarity
and Development in Spain (2005), The UN and L’Equipe Roundtable
on the Indian Ocean Tsunami Aid (2005) and the Sport & Development
– Economy, Culture and Ethics Conference organized by ICSSPE at
Bad Boll in Germany (2005). Along with these initiatives came the important
UNESCO Convention against Doping in Sport meeting in October 2005 that
‘adopted unanimously the International Convention against Doping
and Sport’.
It is questionable that these conferences directly related to human
rights and sport. Although sport has achieved much in the promotion
of sport through development and peace, it is difficult to ascertain
how sport assists in supporting the ‘Dimensions of Human Life’
which are grounded in human rights theory. These are as espoused by
Kalin et al (2006, p.1) as:
The recent phenomenon of linking sport and human rights by Kidd and
Donnelly (2000) currently gives academics clear directions. They argue
that:
Social scientists can contribute in important ways to the promotion
of human rights through sports, especially at a time when thinking about
human rights issues is becoming more widespread. (p. 145)
There is still a tendency for academics to equate human rights issues
with those of development and peace. There is however a clear distinction.
Other authors have argued similar points between the relationship between
human rights and sport. Sidoti (1999, p. 21) argues that ‘sport
is really a soft option’ and reiterates the question posed at
the beginning of this paper - we have it ‘the wrong way round’.
It should not be how human rights are articulated with sport but ‘whether
sport affects the promotion of human rights’. Sidoti suggests,
and is right of course, that we seem to have lost the meaning of the
term and are in danger of promoting sport through the medium of human
rights literature rather than coming from a human rights perspective
where sport is a small microcosm of the answer to the problems of individuals’
‘right to life’. I am suggesting that sport academics need
to revisit the human rights literature in order to promote a more balanced
approach rather than rely on the ‘power of sport’ to try
to `patch up` the problems. As Mary Robinson, UN Human Rights Commissioner,
argued in 1998 that if we:
Count up the results of 50 years of human rights mechanisms, 30 years
of multi-billion dollar development programmes and endless high level
rhetoric and the general impact is quite under-whelming …this
is a failure of implementation on a scale that shames us all.
What hope is there of sport making an impact on
the human rights issues across the world if human rights mechanisms cannot?
Maybe it is possible if we know where we are going as a group. For example,
it is clear from the work which came out of the 1999 Human Rights Council
of Australia Conference in Sydney, Australia, entitled ‘How
you play the game: The contribution of sport to the promotion of human
rights’, that there is a need for another such conference to
discuss the important issues of human rights and how sport can play a
part in supporting the rights of individuals. This conference needs to
be developed by the UN and the United Nations Human Rights Commission
in conjunction with ICSSPE so that there are positive outcomes and a clear
definition of the relationship between human rights and sport. David (2005)
started this process by producing a book highlighting the relationship
between human rights and youth sport. However, other human rights areas
such as gender-based violence, poverty, cruelty, torture, racial discrimination,
liberty, education, conflict, health, food and genocide have not been
linked to sport. Indeed, can we link sport to some of these important
issues? I think not in all cases but I am willing to debate the issues
further.
Obviously, some quality papers and books have been developed over the
past few years. Please see for example (Burke & Roberts, 2005; Corbett:
1999; David, 2005; Guilianotti, 1999; Hums, 2005; Lapchick, 2005; McArdle,
1999; McArdle & Guilianotti, 2006; Miah: 1999). All are seminal
and provide examples of the nature of the relationship between sport
and human rights. However, I would still argue that we really do have
it ‘the wrong way around’ and that the protection of one’s
human rights are much more important than sport. As reported by Amnesty
International (2004, paragraph 1) in its Human Rights Report on China:
Despite a few positive steps, no attempt was made to introduce the fundamental
legal and institutional reforms necessary to bring an end to serious
human rights violations. Tens of thousands of people continued to be
detained or imprisoned in violation of their rights to freedom of expression
and association, and were at serious risk of torture or ill-treatment.
Consequently, for some, the problems of life are insurmountable. For
example, in some parts of Ethiopia, Lebanon, Kosovo, Somalia, Rwanda
and other war-ravaged countries, the playing of sport is far from important.
As I have indicated elsewhere:
The last thing on peoples’ minds when they are homeless and hungry
is the playing of sport; the last thing on peoples’ minds when
they are fighting for survival against torture is the playing of sport;
the last thing on peoples’ minds when women are being mutilated
is the playing of sport; the last thing on severely disabled people’s
minds is the playing of sport. If you’re a refugee, sport doesn’t
matter unless you’re locked in an internment camp and are looking
to pass the time. (Gilbert, 2006, p. 22)
Within this context, sport can be classified as a time filler, an aside,
nonessential to daily life and a soft option on the human rights agenda
and we need to change this perception. Perhaps we need to do more work
like the groundbreaking successes that the ‘Right to Play’
organization is achieving. They believe they can ’empower children
and communities to look after themselves and each other’ and they
‘emphasize the best values of sport and strive to inspire respect,
compassion, optimism, integrity and joy’. This programme has made
a difference to enhancing the quality of life of their target groups.
As academics, we can make a difference if we better understand what
we are trying to communicate when talking about human rights and sport,
and focus our attempts towards these unified objectives.
For example, if survival is the key, health should be an objective and
if sport can support the development of health for the marginalized
(Cook & Gilbert, 2006), then we should use it as one of a series
of tools rather than the panacea. We must put sport in the right perspective
and not champion its cause above other more important social issues.
Indeed, does sport really matter in relation to human rights? We need
to try and get it the right way around.
References Amnesty International. (2004). China. Retrieved from
http://web.amnesty.org/
report2004/chn-summary-eng.
Burke, M., & Roberts, T. (1999, September) Drugs, sport and human
rights. Paper
presented at the Human Rights Council of Australia Conference, How You
Play the Game: The Contribution of Sport to the Promotion of Human Rights.
Sydney, Australia.
Cook, K., & Gilbert, K. (2006). Life on the
margins: Implications for health research. French’s Forest,
Sydney, Australia: Pearson Education
Corbett, D. (1999, September). Ethics and moral behavior in sport:
A human rights issue,
Paper presented at the Human Rights Council of Australia Conference,
How You Play the Game: The Contribution of Sport to the Promotion of
Human Rights. Sydney, Australia.
David, P. (2005). Human rights in sport: A critical
review of children’s rights in
competitive sports. London: Routledge, Taylor & Francis. Gilbert, K. (2006). Sport, peace and development. Keynote Speech, Conference on Sport & Coaching, Johor Bahru Sports Council, Johor, Malaysia. Hums, M.A. (2005, October). Sport as a human right: The role of the
Olympic
Movement. Presented at the annual conference of the North American
Society for Sport Sociology, Winston-Salem, NC.
Kalnin, W. Muller, L., & J. Wyttenbach (2006).
(Eds.) The face of human rights. Baden, Switzerland: Lars Muller
Publications.
Kidd, B. & Donnelly, P. (2000). Human rights
in sport, International Review for the Sociology of Sport 35(2),
pp. 131-148
Lapchick, R. E. (1999, September). The new racial stereotypes of the
1990’s. Paper
presented at the Human Rights Council of Australia Conference, How you
Play the Game: The Contribution of Sport to the Promotion of Human Rights,
Sydney, Australia. McArdle, D. (1999). Beyond a boundary: sexual harassment in sports
employment. Paper
presented at the Human Rights Council of Australia Conference, How You
Play the Game: The Contribution of Sport to the Promotion of Human Rights,
Sydney, Australia.
McArdle, D., & Giulianotti, R. (2006). (Eds) Sport,
civil liberties & human rights. London: Routledge, Taylor &
Francis.
Miah, A. (1999, September). The human rights of the genetically engineered
athlete.
Paper presented at the Human Rights Council of Australia Conference,
How You Play the Game: The Contribution of Sport to the Promotion of
Human Rights. Sydney, Australia.
Robertson, G. (1999). Crimes against humanity:
The struggle for global justice. Allan Lane, The Penguin Press.
Sidoti, C. (1999, September). Rules beyond the game, Paper presented
at the Human
Rights Council of Australia Conference, How You Play the Game: The Contribution
of Sport to the Promotion of Human Rights. Sydney, Australia.
United Nations. (2003). Sport for development
& peace: Towards achieving the Millennium Goals. Report from
the United Nations Inter- Agency Task Force on Sport for Development and
Peace. New York: Author.
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