Sporting organisations commit to upholding human rights

The NI Sport and Human Rights Forum is delighted that three more member organisations have endorsed the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights.

The Northern Ireland Sport Forum, Glentoran Social Partnership and Street Soccer NI have pledged to embed and champion human rights within their sports.

The Declaration sets out 10 commitments to promoting human rights, equality, participation, accessibility, procurement and good governance across all areas of the sporting organisation.

Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Chief Executive, Dr David Russell, stated:

“We welcome that three more of our members have signed up to the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights. Sport has the power to advance the human rights of everyone, and a wide and diverse range of people will be enriched by the NI Sport Forum, Glentoran Social Partnership and Street Soccer NI signing up to respect and protect the rights of all involved in their organisations.”

Conal Heatley, Chair of the Northern Ireland Sports and Human Rights Forum added:

“I would like to thank the NI Sport Forum, Glentoran Social Partnership and Street Soccer NI for recognising the role human rights has to play in promoting fairness and equality within sport. The Northern Ireland Sport and Human Rights Forum has provided a great platform for discussion and engagement around human rights issues affecting sports, and I would encourage other members to sign up to the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights going forward.”

Karla McDermott, Head of Glentoran Social Partnership said:

“Sport has the power to have a positive impact on people’s lives and wellbeing. Glentoran Social Partnership are proud to sign up to the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights, embedding human rights into our practices and using it to empower those we work with in the community.”

Richard Honeyford, Chief Executive at the Northern Ireland Sport Forum commented:

“We are delighted to have been given the opportunity to sign up to the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights. Sport and recreation are well documented for the positive impact they make from grass roots to high performance. The work of the Sport for Human Rights Forum continues to progress the issues affecting human rights and highlighting the role sport has to play.”

Justin McMinn, Co-Founder of Street Soccer NI added:

“We want to thank the NI Sport and Human Rights Forum for this opportunity to sign up to the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights. Street Soccer NI is passionate about changing lives and promoting fairness and equality to all involved with our charity across Northern Ireland.”

ENDS

Notes

• The NI Sport and Human Rights Forum was established in May 2019. The Forum has been established as a multi-stakeholder platform to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and good practice on sport and human rights issues. It meets three times a year and builds on empowering shared learning in the area of sport and human rights. For more information about the Forum please contact Michael.boyd@nihrc.org

• The Chair of the NI Sport and Human Rights Forum is Conal Heatley, Business and Operations Manager at Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland.

• The Declaration of Sport and Human Rights is based upon the original 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights and adapted for ease of application with the sporting environment. It was originally drafted by Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland and the NI Human Rights Commission.

• The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is an independent statutory body first proposed in the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (1998) and established in 1999 by the Northern Ireland Act (1998). It is answerable to Parliament at Westminster.
• The NI Sport Forum exists to promote amateur sport and physical recreation, which results in improved physical and mental health. It’s a voluntary association whose membership consists of 70+ Full Members, 20+ Associate Members and 14 Individual Members with an interest in sport and physical recreation.
• Glentoran Social Partnership strives to enable the greater wellbeing and social inclusion for the people and groups of the community through community engagement in recreational activities such as sport, recreation, community interests and leisure time.
• Street Soccer NI is the governing body for swimming, diving, water polo, open water and synchronised swimming on the island of Ireland.