Published: May 16, 2000
The Second IOC World Conference on Women and Sport, which took place in Paris from 6 to 8 March 2000, concluded its work by adopting the following resolution:
a) Recalling that the aim of the Olympic Movement is to build a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal without discrimination of any kind
b) Welcoming the initiatives undertaken by the International Olympic Committee, the International Sports Federations, the National Olympic Committees to promote women in sport
c) Taking into consideration the work accomplished since the first IOC World Conference on Women and Sport held in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1996
d) Recalling the recommendations formulated in the Windhoek Call for Action, the Berlin Agenda on Physical Education, and the UNESCO Declaration of Punta del Este
e) Recognizing that more challenges have to be taken up to ensure equality of opportunities in the sport movement at local, national, continental and world levels
1. Urges the President of the International Olympic Committee to call upon the International Sports Federations, National Olympic Committees, National Federations and sports organizations to meet the goal of 10% minimum representation of women in decision-making positions by 31 December 2000, in keeping with the decision of the 1996 IOC Session, to evaluate the reasons for failure to meet the targets, and draft a plan of action for implementation to address them, and if need be, to extend the period to June 2001, and ensure that the 20% goal for 2005 is maintained and attained;
2. Requests the International Olympic Committee, the International Sports Federations and the National Olympic Committees to set their own forward targets for future representation in governing bodies through 2020;
3. Requests the International Olympic Committee to encourage the minimum representation of at least one woman representative in national delegations at the world and regional assemblies and other forms of sports organizations;
4. Calls upon the International Olympic Committee to increase the scholarships and training courses for women leaders, athletes and coaches and other officials, in particular through Olympic Solidarity programmes and with special emphasis on women from developing countries, provide educational resources, including training manuals on gender equity in sport, to continue to organize information seminars and to support research initiatives at national and continental levels;
5. Urges governments, through the relevant bodies such as the Commission on the Status of Women, to recognize in the review of the United Nations Platform of Action (Beijing+5) and in its final document the importance of physical activity and sport to girls and women's development at all stages of their life, in the areas of health, human rights, education, decision-making and the girl child;
6. Invites intergovernmental organizations, and UNESCO in particular, to raise awareness about the positive influence of CEDAW articles on the development of physical activity and sport for girls and women;
7. Calls upon the International Olympic Committee and the other members of the Olympic Movement to raise awareness about the importance of a quality physical education and develop a strategy and educational material to support physical education for girls in school curricula in particular;
8. Urges all national and international sports organizations to use sport as an instrument to promote a culture of peace, understanding and the Olympic truce in areas of conflict;
9. Urges the International Olympic Committee, the International Sports Federations, the National Olympic Committees and the National Federations to develop and implement a policy on sexual harassment including codes of conducts for athletes, coaches, sport leaders, and other Olympic parties to include this theme in all workshops and conferences organized by the International Federations and the National Olympic Committees;
10. Urges non-governmental organizations dealing with women and sport to establish working relations with concerned governmental institutions and the sports movement at local and national and international levels, in order to benefit from technical assistance programmes;
11. Recommends to all parties involved to work more closely with the media to ensure a larger and more accurate information to project the real image about women's sport and to develop special training programmes for women journalists;
12. Congratulates the International Olympic Committee and its Women and Sport Working Group for organizing this World Conference on Women and Sport;
13. Expresses its sincere thanks to the French authorities and the National Olympic and Sports Committee of France for their cooperation and hospitality; Women in the Olympic Movement
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