A/HRC/40/72 27. The Intercultural Football National Coordinator of the Football Association of Ireland, Des Tomlinson, argued that inclusivity, equality and anti-racism operated together. The European Union considered sport as a tool for promoting inclusion and anti-racism, and sport could be used to counter the polarizing narrative against migrants and refugees. For this, partnerships were essential, such as the one between Football Association of Ireland and the Department of Justice in the framework of the national action plan against racism and of related integration strategies. The cooperation was aimed at promoting participation and challenging racism through an intercultural football strategy supported by UEFA. An OHCHR-supported campaign with fan clubs and social media had encouraged fans to stand up for human rights. This had created momentum for changing behaviours and policies. In Ireland, guidance, training, surveys and audits were aimed at addressing discrimination in football at all levels, including the grass roots. Football also contributed to promoting language skills and cultural exchange with refugees and migrants. 28. During the interactive dialogue, representatives from the Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva, the Associazione Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII, the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Equality League, the Fare Network, Human Rights Watch, Association Le Pont, the Russian LGBT Sport Federation, the UNESCO Chair and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela took the floor. Speakers addressed challenges, such as exclusion of women and other groups from sports activities, mental health in sport, and diversity and respect for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons. Participants enquired about ways to better promote diversity in sports. Some emphasized that investments in and commitments to equality and inclusion could benefit businesses, by, for example, attracting more fans to stadiums. Some participants shared good practices at the national and international levels, such as Project Cicetekelo for children in street situations in Zambia, which used football for inclusion. 29. In response, Ms. Wurbs called for victims of discrimination to have independent contact points to protect and support victims’ identities. A structural approach with blanket rules to pre-empt incidents was preferable to case-by-case solutions. She advocated giving women a platform to call for action from governments, including access to stadiums. Mr. Ustian pointed out the importance of giving voice to victims of discrimination. However, he warned of the risks of politicizing major sporting events. Change had to come from within societies. He called for sustainable national programmes to monitor authorities and their implementation of anti-discrimination policies, and for human rights education through sports. Mr. Smertin said that the Russian Football Union supported inclusivity and was creating anti-discrimination policies. He noted the large number of girls playing football in the country and the involvement of women in FIFA. Mr. Tomlinson noted the importance of connecting football with wider governmental strategies on integration. This validated sport as a social intervention for non-discriminatory treatment and equality. E. Sports and rights at work 30. The Executive Director of the World Players Association, Brendan Schwab, stressed the precarious and short-term nature of sporting careers. The Association worked to give voice to players and to promote players’ rights enshrined in human rights, ILO and UNESCO instruments. Violations included lack of payment, unjust contract termination and sexual abuse. Many sports governing organizations still failed to embed human rights in their activities and were reluctant to engage with players’ associations. In 2017, the World Players Association launched the Universal Declaration of Player Rights, which is organized into four pillars – access to sports, fundamental respect for labour rights, personal rights and legal rights – and also declares the fundamental duty of every athlete to respect the rights of fellow athletes. Mr. Schwab concluded by stating that if the world of sport embraced a genuine dialogue on athletes’ rights, then it could be successful as a business and cultural force. 31. A member of the International Olympic Committee’s Athletes’ Commission, Danka Bartekova, explained the work of the Athletes’ Commission, and the first-ever Olympic Movement Athletes’ Rights and Responsibilities Declaration, inspired by international human rights standards. Athletes and their representatives had led the drafting of the 9