- On the threshold of a new millennium, the third International
Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical
Education and Sport (MINEPS III) met in Punta del Este (Uruguay) from
30 November to 3 December 1999. In a spirit of true global cooperation
and mutual understanding, the participants adopted this Declaration
intended to mobilize governments, intergovernmental and
non-governmental organizations and individuals throughout the world.
- The Ministers reiterate the importance of physical education and
sport as an essential element and an integral part in the process of
continuing education and human and social development. These
activities can also contribute to social cohesion, mutual tolerance
and the integration of different ethnic and cultural minorities at a
time when migration concerns all continents. They underline the
importance of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) as a focal point for sport and physical
education in the United Nations system.
- In this era of globalization, the Ministers note the need for
renewed effort for North-South dialogue and cooperation, and urge
donor countries and international financial bodies to recognize sport
and physical education as powerful tools for development with a view
to reducing the gap between the developed and the developing
countries, and to provide resources for this through official
development assistance programmes. They also note the need, and
request UNESCO’s support, for the inclusion of physical education
and sport as Human Development indicators by the United Nations
Development Programme (UNDP) at the same level as education, health
and the environment.
- They are deeply concerned to note that, in spite of the expansion of
elite sport and sport for all programmes in recent years,
opportunities for children to participate in physical education have
been significantly curtailed. It is noted that the time required for
physical education in schools is not being respected and is even being
substantially reduced in many countries because of changing priorities.
The reduction of physical education programmes, they note, has
contributed to the phenomenal rise in juvenile delinquency and
violence, and rising medical and social costs. Studies undertaken at
international levels indicate that $1 invested in physical activity
leads to a saving of $3.2 in medical costs. In this context, they
endorse the Berlin Agenda for Action adopted by the World Summit on
Physical Education in 1999 and encourage Member States to ensure that
sport and physical education are incorporated in school programmes or,
as a minimum, that their legal requirements with respect to physical
education programmes in school curricula are being met.
- The Ministers note that, although substantial progress has been made
worldwide, women are still under-represented as participants, coaches,
officials and decision-makers in sport. They urge Member States and
sports bodies to undertake a course of action to raise the involvement
of girls and women in physical education and sport in all capacities
at regional, national and local levels, using the 1979 United Nations
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women and the 1994 Brighton Declaration on Women and Sport as
reference documents.
- The Ministers underscore the importance of promoting lifelong sport
and ensuring that sport and physical activity programmes are made
available to elderly persons and persons with disabilities.
- The Ministers emphasize the ethical values of sport and urge all
countries, both developed and developing, to work together to combat
unethical behaviour, including doping in sport. They appreciate the
initiative of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in
establishing the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA) and emphasize the
important role of all governments in WADA and in eliminating doping in
sport in general. They further encourage this Agency to assist
developing countries in their efforts to fight against doping in
sport. UNESCO’s role in this field should concentrate on information
and education in particular.
- The Ministers support a policy of preserving and enhancing
traditional and indigenous sports based on the cultural heritage of
regions and nations, including a "worldwide list of traditional
games and sports", and of encouraging the holding of regional and
world festivals.
- The Ministers note that in the coming millennium UNESCO should play
a leading role as a catalyst organization to reinforce global
cooperation, based on the fact that physical education and sport can
play a significant role in the socio-economic development of all
countries. They urge UNESCO, in conjunction with other United Nations
specialized agencies and the IOC, to prepare a comprehensive programme
for financial and technical assistance to the developing countries.
- The Ministers urge the Director-General of UNESCO to allocate
sufficient financial and human resources and to reinforce the
structure within the UNESCO Secretariat in the field of physical
education and sport.
- The Ministers encourage the Director-General of UNESCO to promote
periodic regional meetings of senior officials and experts from Member
States under the auspices of the Intergovernmental Committee for
Physical Education and Sport (CIGEPS).
- In order to ensure progress, the Ministers recommend to the
Director-General of UNESCO the holding of a Round Table of Ministers
of Sport and Physical Education at the 31st session of the
General Conference of UNESCO with a view to undertaking an interim
review of follow-up action to MINEPS III.
- The Ministers recognize the important role that non-governmental
organizations play in promoting physical education and sport as an
instrument for achieving social cohesion and democracy, and encourage
Member States to strengthen their partnership with NGOs in the
development of programmes and policies relating to sport and physical
education.
- They underscore the important role the media can play, especially in
creating public awareness of the crucial social and economic
contribution of sport and physical education to the well-being of a
nation and its people.
- The Ministers reaffirm their commitment to work in unison and with
devotion to promote a Culture of Peace with the help of sport and to
seek support for their efforts from the highest political level. They
welcome the unanimous adoption of a resolution on the Olympic Truce by
the United Nations General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session and
reaffirm their resolve to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation
beyond the Olympic Games period.
- The Ministers request the Director-General of UNESCO to transmit the
Declaration of Punta del Este to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations so that it can be taken into account in the framework of the
International Year for the Culture of Peace (2000) and in the
programme of the International Decade for a Culture of Peace and
Non-Violence for the Children of the World (2001-2010).
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