A/HRC/44/26 past decade.30 Coverage of women’s participation in sports considered to be more “masculine” – such as basketball, weightlifting and boxing – is more likely to be accompanied with examples of interconnected racist and gendered commentary.31 III. International human rights framework 17. International human rights norms and standards place obligations on States to prevent and provide redress for discrimination. These include specific treaty provisions regarding State obligations of non-discrimination on the basis of sex, race and gender, in particular those enshrined in the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 32 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 33 the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and in the jurisprudence emanating from the related treaty bodies. The Convention on the Rights of the Child also guarantees the right to equal participation of girls in sport and the protection of the rights of athletes under the age of 18. 18. The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women requires States to ensure that women have the same opportunities to participate actively in sports and to take all appropriate measures to this end. 34 The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has also raised concerns that women and girls, in particular those with disabilities, do not fully participate in sports, owing to discriminatory stereotypes and prejudices. 35 The Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities has also expressed concerns about the limited participation of women and girls with disabilities in physical education in schools, and in national tournaments and sports leagues. 36 States have also committed, in the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, to supporting the advancement of women in all areas of athletics, including coaching, training and administration, and as participants at the national, regional and international levels. 37 In 2018, the General Assembly, in its resolution 73/24 on sport as an enabler of sustainable development, called for attention to gender equality and the promotion of human rights in sport. 19. Fulfilling these legal obligations requires an understanding of how race and gender discrimination intersect in sport and in society more broadly. As noted by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in a 2017 report, several international instruments and human rights mechanisms explicitly recognize the impact of intersecting forms of discrimination on the enjoyment of human rights by women and girls, including intersections with race, ethnicity, religion, nationality and migration status. 38 In that report, the High Commissioner also explained that the concept of intersectionality captures the consequences of two or more combined systems of discrimination, and addresses the manner in which they contribute to create layers of inequality. 39 20. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women has identified intersectional analysis as essential to understanding the scope of the general obligations of States parties, and has called upon them to legally recognize such intersecting forms of 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 Kara Allen and Cynthia M. Frisby, “A content analysis of microaggressions in news stories about female athletes”. Ibid. Arts. 2 (2) and 3. See also Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, general comment No. 20 (2009) on non-discrimination in economic, social and cultural rights, paras. 20 and 32. Arts. 2 (1), 3 and 26. See also Human Rights Committee, general comments No. 18 (1989) on nondiscrimination and No. 28 (2000) on the equality of rights between men and women; and Genero v. Italy (CCPR/C/128/D/2979/2017), para. 7.6. Art. 10 (g). See CEDAW/C/PSE/CO/1, para. 40 (b); CEDAW/C/KAZ/CO/5, para. 41 (e); CEDAW/C/BWA/CO/4, para. 39; CEDAW/C/ITA/CO/7, para. 43; and CEDAW/C/FRA/CO/7-8, para. 38 (b). See CRPD/C/SAU/CO/1, para. 53. See also CRPD/C/BOL/CO/1, para. 67 (a). Para. 83 (m). A/HRC/35/10, para. 4. Ibid., para. 7. 5