UN Human Rights Council
59^th session – Item 3
L.23 – General Comment

Empowering women and girls in and through sport

EU General Comment

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU Member States that are members of the Human Rights Council. This general comment has been agreed by the EU as a whole.

The EU thanks the core group led by Qatar for conducting the open informal consultations on the draft resolution entitled Empowerment of women and girls in and through sport. At the same time, we feel compelled to express our key concerns regarding both the process of presenting the draft and its substance.

Firstly, a late circulation of an initiative - especially a new one on such a complex topic - on short notice, and without providing any sources for the proposed language, risks to undermine meaningful discussion among the UN Members States and the transparency of the process, and can have harmful implications for the topic at hand.

Secondly, the draft resolution raises questions about added value and potential duplication. At least three existing resolutions of the Council address the empowerment of women and girls and their human rights in sport. We believe that coordination among penholders and existing core groups is crucial, in the interest of mutual respect and the Council’s work efficiency. Rationalization efforts are all the more important in light of current financial constraints.

Thirdly and most importantly, while we are grateful for the efforts the penholder to accommodate a number of our concerns, we deeply regret that the presented text does not reflect the many proposals widely supported in the negotiations by delegations across all regions which aimed at strengthening the language on the human rights of women and girls and on gender equality. We would have hoped for an ambitious approach that advances gender equality, the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights by all women and girls, and their empowerment, in line with international commitments. While we acknowledge the penholder’s efforts to balance between divergent views, we would have hoped for progress. Instead, the outcome before us represents a regression from agreed UN language. This is particularly regrettable in a year when we are celebrating the achievements of the Beijing Platform for Action and the Programme of Action of the ICPD. 

The EU stresses the urgent need for concrete advances towards gender equality and for an ambitious and transformative approach to address the root causes and risk factors of gender inequality, gender stereotypes, discrimination, and sexual and gender-based violence.

Moreover, we have some further textual concerns. In particular, the ambiguous reference to a dress code that undermines dignity raises serious questions about its definition and is prone to misinterpretation contrary to international human rights law. Regarding the mentioned obligations of States under the CRPD, we understand these to mean that States shall take appropriate measures to encourage and promote the participation, to the fullest extent possible, of persons with disabilities in mainstream sporting activities at all levels.

Mr. President,

We truly appreciate the respectful and rich exchange of views with the penholder on the text, as well as the opportunity to clarify once again our concerns, in the interest of fostering understanding. We recognize that some of our proposals were taken on board. Despite our remaining strong concerns, we will not impede consensus on the presented draft resolution. 

I thank you.