This is the kind of effort in which the UN, its member states and the UN’s various agencies can really make a difference. The “failures” with respect to reining in rogue countries should not diminish the entity’s ability and mandate to effect positive change around the world, ensuring the most basic of rights to everyone.

Thanks to the folks at Peace and Sport for sharing this announcement.

Press release

THE UNITED NATIONS AND PEACE AND SPORT JOIN FORCES TO PROMOTE PEACE THROUGH SPORT

Monaco and New York, October 1, 2009 – Peace and Sport, the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), and the United Nations Office for Partnerships (UNOP) have agreed to work together to promote the role of sport in achieving sustainable peace and development, especially in countries emerging from conflicts.

This partnership will engage athletes, sport associations, policy makers, international organizations, the private sector, foundations and civil society.

Increasingly, sport is recognized as an important tool in helping the United Nations achieve its objectives, particularly the Millennium Development Goals.  The values of tolerance, collaboration, and respect, which are inherent to sport, can provide a powerful platform for social cohesion, dialogue, reconciliation, and learning.

Peace and Sport, UNOSDP and UNOP are also collaborating on the 3^rd Peace and Sport International Forum, which will take place on 25-27 November, 2009 in Monaco, under the patronage of H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco .  This high-level event will bring together world leaders and decision-makers in the areas of sport and peace.

Joel Bouzou, President and Founder of Peace and Sport, said: “It’s a great honour for Peace and Sport to be recognized as a strategic partner by two key offices in the United Nations System. Our international platform is neutral and apolitical, which gives us legitimacy to work effectively with a multitude of very different actors, promoting and building peace through sport. We are pleased to leverage this aptitude to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals. By partnering with the UN, our efforts to raise awareness and mobilize decision-makers in politics, sport and economic life will be increased tenfold and made more effective. “

Wilfried Lemke, Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Sport for Development and Peace, noted: “One of the main tasks of my mandate is to lead and coordinate the efforts of the United Nations system in order to better integrate sport and physical education into our programmes worldwide. Encouraging collaboration and partnerships in this area is one of my priorities. I am convinced that the UN has found a worthwhile ally in Peace and Sport to use sport as an innovative catalyst for social change and building sustainable peace.”

In December 2008, Mr. Lemke joined the group of prominent figures who have become Peace and Sport Ambassadors.

Amir Dossal, Executive Director of UNOP, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace and Peace and Sport to highlight the important role sport can play in furthering the Millennium Development Goals and bettering the lives of people around the world. I am confident that this partnership will provide a valuable platform for new initiatives and projects with concrete results.”

About Peace and Sport

“Peace and Sport, L’Organisation pour la Paix par le Sport” is a neutral and apolitical initiative.  Peace and Sport puts sport and its structuring values at the heart of development projects led within communities in crisis around the world. Carrying out missions in areas of post-conflict and extreme poverty, or suffering from lack social cohesion, Peace and Sport makes sport a vehicle for tolerance, respect, sharing and citizenship at the service of sustainable peace.

Supported by governments, world sport governing bodies, international organizations, major international private companies and international sports champions, Peace and Sport creates synergies between various different stakeholders to carry out four types of action:

• Organizing an annual International Forum (next edition in Monaco , 25 -27 November 2009)
• Creating a Resource Centre for sport and peace,
• The Peace and Sport Awards, to reward individuals and initiatives contributing to peace,
• Locally-Based Projects; concrete actions in different regions of crisis in the world.

Peace and Sport currently operates intervenes in Cote d’Ivoire , Burundi , Israel-Palestine, Timor-Leste , Colombia and is planning an intervention in Haiti in the near future.

Peace and Sport was founded by Joel Bouzou, current President of the organisation. Mr. Bouzou is an Olympic medallist, world champion of Modern Pentathlon and current Secretary General for the International Union of Modern Pentathlon (UIPM). He is also an Advisor to H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco .

About UNOPSD:

The United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace (UNOSDP), based in Geneva and supported by a New York Liaison Office, assists the Special Adviser in his diverse activities as an advocate, facilitator and representative of sports’ social purposes:

• ADVOCATE: Leading and coordinating the efforts of the UN system to promote the understanding and support amongst UN Member States and other actors for sport as a tool to attain the Millennium Development Goals, with a special focus on sport’s contribution to poverty reduction, universal education, gender equality; prevention of HIV and AIDS and other diseases, environmental sustainability as well as peace building and conflict resolution.
• FACILITATOR: Encouraging dialogue, collaboration and partnerships around sport for development and peace between the United Nations and Member States , international sports organizations, civil society, the private sector and the media.
• REPRESENTATIVE: Representing the Secretary-General and the United Nations system at important global sport events and other strategically important fora.

In general, the Office provides the entry point to the United Nations system with regards to sport for development and peace and brings the world of sport and development together.

About UNOP:

The United Nations Office for Partnerships, based in New York , serves as a gateway for public-private partnerships with the United Nations system, in furtherance of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

UNOP provides Partnership Advisory Services and Outreach to a variety of entities, including academic institutions, companies, foundations, government agencies, and civil society organizations.  The Office encourages investment in high-impact initiatives by assisting in the design of programmes and projects; helping establish and manage networks; advocating the use of the MDGs as a framework for action; and advising on UN procedures and best practices.

The Office also manages the United Nations Fund for International Partnerships, established by the Secretary-General in 1998 to serve as the interface for the partnership between the UN system and the UN Foundation, and the United Nations Democracy Fund, established by the Secretary-General in 2006 to support democratization throughout the world.

For further information contact:

Peace and Sport- Valerie Amant, Head of Communications, Email: valamant@yahoo.fr or phone : +33 (0)6 8337 6621

UNOPSD – Antoine Tardy,  Advocacy and Communications Officer, Email: atardy@unog.ch or telephone: +41 (0)22 917 47 12; fax: +41 (0)22 917 07 12

UNOP – Lucie Hrbkova, Chief of Office , Email: hrbkova@un.org or telephone: +1-212-963-3441