Officials during the inauguration of ‘Human Rights and Football’ exhibition in Geneva.
Geneva: The activities of a 5-day ‘Human Rights and Football’ exhibition, organised by the National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), started yesterday, in cooperation with the Permanent Mission of Qatar to the United Nations in Geneva, on the sidelines of the 49th session of the Human Rights Council.
The opening of the exhibition at the headquarters of the Human Rights Council was attended by representatives of diplomatic missions, ambassadors, representatives of international organisations and countries participating in the session of the Council. The exhibition includes paintings that portray concepts of human rights in football and models of the World Cup stadiums for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.
Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee H E Sultan bin Hassan Al Jamali stressed, in a statement, that choosing Qatar to host the 2022 World Cup was a good occasion to consider the process of integrating human rights concepts into major sporting events, noting that the idea of the “Human Rights and Football” exhibition came in this context, for which the paintings were drawn by the Qatari artist Ahmed Al Maadheed.
Al Jamali added that this exhibition wasn’t just paintings and aesthetic dimensions, but rather standards for the preservation and protection of human rights, with regard to sport, which have been translated into paintings that address humanity in its various languages and cultures, stressing at the same time that the National Human Rights Committee was looking into Sport as comprehensive goals regardless of gain or loss.
He added that they paid a lot of attention to make sport one of the basics for promoting human development and safety, in line with the third goal of the Sustainable Gevelopment Goals, which is to ensure that everyone enjoys healthy lifestyles and safety at all ages.
The Secretary-General of the National Human Rights Committee indicated that sport shares many basic goals and values with human rights principles, pointing out that the Olympic Charter aims to make sport a means for the harmonious development of humankind in order to create a peaceful society concerned with preserving human dignity.
He indicated that the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace stressed that well-organised sports activities that shows the best sports values in discipline, mutual respect, sportsmanship and teamwork, can all contribute to the integration of societal groups and help educate individuals about the values necessary for social peace.
Al Jamali stressed the ability of sport to promote social development by changing perceptions of people with disabilities and providing them with the opportunity to participate in sport and integrate them into their societies. Many of the basic principles contained in international human rights conventions and covenants. He noted that the exhibition boards also express the opposition to violence in stadiums, racial discrimination and racist expressions that may be issued by some fans against the players.
Al Jamali sressed the ability of sport to promote social development by changing perceptions about people with disabilities and providing them with the opportunity to participate in sport and integrate them into their societies. He said that in this context, the National Human Rights Committee organised the exhibition, which includes paintings that reflect the meanings of human rights in football, and embody many of the basic principles contained in international human rights conventions and covenants.
