NEW YORK CITY (ALETIHAD)
Speaking before the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Wednesday, the Second Secretary of the UAE’s Permanent Mission to the UN in New York, Sara Al Awadhi, addressed the potential of using sports to enhance communication and understanding among people from diverse backgrounds.
Speaking in reference to a draft resolution titled “Sport for Development and Peace: Building a Better Peaceful World through Sport and the Olympic Ideal”, co-sponsored by the UAE, Al Awadhi said: “Today, the world urgently needs to find ways to enhance communication and understanding among different peoples, supporting their development and stability, and sports play a significant role in this.”
Al Awadhi also noted: “Sports possess a unique global language, contributing to overcoming differences and uniting communities with diverse cultural, linguistic, and religious backgrounds under the umbrella of cooperation, mutual respect, and healthy competition. Sports also create numerous opportunities for youth, drive countries’ economies, and contribute to achieving sustainable development goals, especially goal number three regarding good health and well-being.”
Therefore, it is important for the international community to enhance support and funding for sports, ensuring accessibility to all, especially in developing countries, Al Awadhi said, adding that it is also important to provide the necessary infrastructure for the sector and to continue using sports as a tool to establish the values of peace.
“In the United Arab Emirates, sports receive significant attention within our internal and external policies. We continue to invest in this vital sector and enhance the capabilities of the relevant authorities, including implementing the National Sports Strategy for 2031, aimed at developing sports in the UAE and increasing participation in local and international championships, including the Olympics.
We believe that adopting laws and legislation is important for advancing the sports sector. For instance, my country has enacted a federal law to regulate all aspects of sports activities in the UAE and ensure sports activities are accessible to everyone in the state,” Al Awadhi said.
She also noted that, as part of the UAE’s efforts to make sports a fundamental pillar for building peaceful and prosperous societies, the country has also focused on hosting various types of sports championships at regional, sub-regional, and international levels.
In this way, the UAE recognises the importance of encouraging and enabling countries from different regions worldwide to host sports championships if the appropriate requirements are available, she added.
“We view these occasions as important opportunities to promote convergence and peaceful coexistence among all communities and break negative stereotypes about some countries or peoples, by allowing participants in championships to meet, exchange experiences and cultures. We take this opportunity to congratulate Qatar again on its successful hosting of the FIFA World Cup 2022, a milestone for the Arab region, and we look forward to continuing to host such important championships in our region,” Al Awadhi said.
In light of the escalation of wars and armed conflicts around the world, the international community must focus on the situation of athletes affected by these serious crises, whether in terms of threatening their lives or preventing them from participating in championships, she added.
“Recently, the Palestinian national football team had to temporarily suspend its activities due to the escalation in the occupied Palestinian territories, and one of the team members was killed due to the ongoing Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip.
“In this context, we emphasise the importance of providing protection for athletes and other civilians during conflicts in accordance with international humanitarian law, in addition to continuing efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire and restore life in the Gaza Strip,” Al Awadhi said.
In conclusion, the UAE reaffirms its continued support for the sports sector and its use to establish values of human brotherhood among peoples, hoping for a better, more stable, and secure future for all young men and women around the world.