africa/global: RACISM IN SPORTS IS TEACHING THE WRONG message, says un official
The sports experience, which ought to teach respect and egalitarianism among people, has been badly marked by racism, while the caste system, deeply rooted in certain value systems, continued to victimize communities on many continents, a senior official from the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) says.
UN HUMAN RIGHTS OFFICIAL SAYS RACISM IN SPORTS IS TEACHING THE WRONG
LESSONS
New York, Oct 24 2003 6:00PM
The sports experience, which ought to teach respect and egalitarianism
among people, has been badly marked by racism, while the caste system,
deeply rooted in certain value systems, continued to victimize communities
on many continents, a senior official from the United Nations High
Commission on Human Rights (UNHCHR) said today.
Doudou Diene, the Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism,
Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, told a General
Assembly committee that he wished to draw its attention to two
particularly striking examples of racism and discrimination.
The first was that sports today, instead of promoting the values of
respect, equality and humanity, often showcased the racist uses of
physical violence and verbal abuse, he said.
Because of the educational, symbolic and popular dimensions of sports,
there was a high risk that this negative behaviour could intensify, rather
than lessen, a racist and discriminatory culture and mentality, Mr. Diene
said. The United Nations and governments needed to take urgent and
determined steps, along with international sports authorities, to head off
such a development.
The second major problem, the caste system in certain societies, had
profound historical roots embedded in value systems and woven into the
social fabric. These properties made caste prejudice, especially in Asia
and Africa, resilient and pervasive, he said, adding that he intended to
give that kind of discrimination a central place in a future report.
UN News Service