Sport has the power to unite people and uplift communities. Sport promotes respect, inclusion, and equality and can empower women and youth, as well vulnerable groups, while major sporting events leave a thriving social and economic legacy. At the same time, because they stir emotions and reach large numbers of people around the world, they have become a target for terrorist attacks and sport itself is being increasingly misused for extremist practices.
The United Nations Global Programme on Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and Its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism (“Global Sports Programme”) is an innovative cross-cutting global initiative to help Member States protect major sporting events against terrorist threats, safeguard sports from extremist activities and leverage the power of sports to strengthen social cohesion and build resilience to violent extremism.
The Global Sports Programme provides policy guidance and technical assistance and supports national and local-level sports-based initiatives to prevent violent extremism. It promotes diversity and gender equality through impactful campaigns and delivers value for money by facilitating international coordination and sharing of knowledge and expertise.
Led by the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism (UNOCT) and delivered together with United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI), United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), the International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), and in close consultation with the UN Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (CTED), The International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) and the Generation Amazing Foundation, the Programme serves as an inclusive platform for over 1,000 national and international institutions, sports federations, civil society, and private entities.
Background
Sport is a powerful vector for the prevention of violent extremism (PVE) at the global, regional, national, and sub-national levels, as well as for promoting gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls. This is supported by the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2419 (2018) and 2535 (2020), addressing several key areas including but not limited to dialogue and conflict prevention, the empowerment of communities and youth, as well as the promotion of gender equality and education.
Additionally, it is equally important to protect and guarantee the security of sport manifestations since the values of sport are a good of humanity. The 7th Review of the Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy calls upon Member States to improve the security and protection of vulnerable targets, including sports events. This is supported by Security Council resolutions 2341 (2017), 2396 (2017) and 2617 (2021), emphasizing the importance of protecting critical infrastructure and soft targets. Safety and Security at Sports Events are also the focus of the Council of Europe’s Saint-Denis Convention, which is accessible to all Member States of the United Nations.
Within this spirit, the UN multi-year Global Programme on Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and Its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism comprises two distinct but complementary workstreams aiming to:
- strengthen the security of major sporting events and,
- promote the use of sport and its values as a tool to prevent violent extremism.
Community of Experts
The goals of the communities platform is to (1) facilitate discussion fora, (2) exchange non-sensitive knowledge between different users on good practices and other topics of common interest, and (3) provide regular updates on UNOCT-related activities of the Global Sports Programme.
Security Group:
This Community of Experts comprises National Focal Points (NFPs) nominated to represent Member States vis-à-vis the activities of the UN Global Sports Programme together with security practitioners and representatives from international and regional organizations, international, continental and national sport federations, sports associations, the Olympic movement, private entities with direct interest in major sport events. The scope of the Community is to share knowledge and facilitate dissemination and adoption of successful policies and practices to strengthen Major Sporting Events (MSEs) security from terrorist threats globally.
PVE Group:
This Community of Experts comprises National Focal Points (NFPs) nominated to represent Member States vis-à-vis the activities of the UN Global Sport Programme together with representatives from civil society organizations, international and regional organizations, international, continental and national sport federations and foundations, sports associations, the Olympic movement and athletes. The scope of the Community is to promote sport values-based policies and practices’ integration into regional and national action plans dedicated to the prevention of violent extremism. While Member States face a diverse range of challenges related to violent extremism, the cross-cutting features of sport make it a useful tool for reaching young people and local level communities to strengthen resiliency and prevent attraction to violent extremism ideologies.
Youth, Sport and Preventing Violent Extremism:
This Community of Practice comprises stakeholders interested in empowering youth and youth leaders who have demonstrates some experience and knowledge (or a great interest to get involved) in issues related to intercultural dialogue, peacebuilding, preventing violent extremism or/and sport for development and peace. The scope of the Community is to provide a platform for youth to discuss sport values-based policies and practices dedicated to the prevention of violent extremism and the crucial role of youth in preventing violent extremism through sport. Members of the Community will also be continuously updated to the Global Sports Programme’s activities, trainings and publications.
e-Learning courses
There are currently two e-Learning Courses available which have been developed within the Global Programme on Security of Major Sporting Events, and Promotion of Sport and Its Values as a Tool to Prevent Violent Extremism (Global Sports Programme).
Prevention of Violent Extremism through Sport:
The objective of the Prevention of Violent Extremism through Sport e-learning course is to provide guidance on the development of sport-for-PVE policies and how to leverage major sporting events to contribute to PVE.
Security of Major Sporting Events:
The objective of the Security e-learning course is to raise awareness of terrorist threats against “soft” targets in the context of MSEs and their ability to identify, prevent and mitigate risks, and counter dangers and violent incidents.
