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Promoting Human Rights Through Paralympic Sport

The International Paralympic Committee is committed to supporting and promoting human rights for all current and potential Paralympic Athletes. In 2004, the IPC Governing Board approved a Position Statement on Human Rights stressing equal access and opportunities and hosted and International Symposium on Human Rights on the occasion of the ATHENS 2004 Paralympic Games. The Symposium, co-organized by Rehabilitaion International, brought together representatives from government, sport, the disability rights movement and media to discuss the status, current issues and hot topics around human rights for persons with a disability. A webcast of the symposium is available at www.db1.org/IPCWMP/index.html .

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities establishes a legally binding standard and a framework for understanding the human rights of persons with a disability in the context of recreational, leisure and sporting activities. Article 30.5 of the Convention:

Applies to all persons with a disability and addresses the full spectrum of opportunities in sport.
Recognizes the athletic potential in all men, women and children with a disability and gives value and respect to persons with a disability as athletic participants integral to the global sporting environment.
Provides visibility and a voice for persons with a disability to engage in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, and calls upon all people in society to include individuals with a disability in the community of sport.
Promotes and advances the access and dignity of persons with a disability in sport, recreation and leisure, and furthers a broader understanding of the rights that individuals have in the domain of sport and physical activity.

Resources

The IPC and Rehabilitation International developed an educational toolkit (and also an Athlete centred version) to explain the process of developing a Convention on the Rights and Dignities of Persons with a Disablity and the role of Paralympic athletes as advocates.

In addition, the IPC has published a document written by Cheri Blauwet, US Paralympian and scholar, titeld “The Paralympics: Promoting Health and Human Rights through Sport”. The document outlines how the Paralympic Movement can be a vehicle to promote the concepts of health and human rights for athletes with a disability. A short version (10 pages) outlines how becoming an athlete can help to promote health and allow the athletes to realize their human rights. The long version (40 pages) is academic in nature and provides a detailed overview of the societal, environmental, and human rights impact of the Paralympic Movement.

For more information about the IPC’s approach to human rights or publications, please contact, IPC Development Manager Amy Farkas at amy.farkas@paralympic.org.