On 23 August 2013, the Sixty-seventh session of the United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. Previously, the Fifty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2005 as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education to promote education, health, development and peace.
Many organizations of the United Nations system, including the International Forum on Sport, Peace and Development, organized jointly with the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, have already established partnerships with the International Olympic Committee. The mission and role of the Committee, as set out in the Olympic Charter, are placing sport at the service of humankind and promoting a peaceful society and healthy lifestyles by associating sport with culture and education and safeguarding human dignity without any discrimination whatsoever.
The General Assembly also recognizes the role that the International Paralympic Committee plays in showcasing the achievements of athletes with an impairment to a global audience and in acting as a primary vehicle to change societal perceptions of disability sport.

  • The General Assembly of the United Nations decided to proclaim on 6 April as International Day of the Sport for the Development and the Peace.
  • This date commemorates the inauguration, in 1896, of the first Olympic games of the modern era, in Athens (Greece).

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Theme for International Day of Sport for Development and Peace

  • We recognize the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives.
  • For these reasons, United Nations General Assembly decided to proclaim 6April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
  • United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace, relevant international organizations, and international, regional and national sports organizations, civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the private sector, and all other relevant stakeholders are invited to cooperate, observe and raise awareness of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace.
  • Sport has historically played an important role in all societies, be it in the form of competitive sport, physical activity or play.
  • Sport and play are human rights that must be respected and enforced worldwide;
  • Sport has been increasingly recognized and used as a low-cost and high-impact tool in humanitarian, development and peace-building efforts, not only by the UN system but also by non-governmental organizations (NGOs), governments, development agencies, sports federations, armed forces and the media.
  • Sport can no longer be considered a luxury within any society but is rather an important investment in the present and future, particularly in developing countries.