“Sport is a universal activity that can reaffirm our fundamental human rights,” Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in his message for the Day.

He noted that despite much progress, racism remains a pervasive menace to individuals and ethnic and religious groups worldwide, a threat to stability and a grave violation of human rights.

The Day is an opportunity to highlight the “sharp contrast between the positive values of sports and the despicable incidents of racism that scar even some professional competitions,” he noted.

“The international community has an obligation to work for equality and non-discrimination, and we can advance progress by promoting these values through sports,” Ban added.

In addition, a group of United Nations independent experts urged governments to declare zero tolerance to racism expressions and discrimination in sport.

“We call on States and sports authorities in different parts of the world to intensify the fight against racism through awareness creation, and by imposing appropriate sanctions on clubs and individuals who propagate racial hatred, abuse and violence,” said Mutuma Ruteere, the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance.

The head of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Alexei Avtonomov, said it is also up to local communities to counter racism when fans use racist slurs, gestures and even violence to demean and attack their opponents or players of the opposite team.

“When such an incident occurs, swift action must be taken, not only by public authorities to condemn it and to hold those responsible to account, but also by the community at large to stand in solidarity against all forms of racial discrimination,” said Avtonomov.

The Day is marked annually on 21 March on the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre, during which 69 unarmed demonstrators were killed when South African police opened fire on a protest against the country’s apartheid laws.

“Racial discrimination, xenophobia and stigmatisation faced in particular by people of African descent must be addressed at the community, national and international levels,” said Verene Shepherd, Chairperson-Rapporteur of the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.

She added that people of African descent should be recognized for their contributions not only to sports, but also to the development, diversity and richness of world civilizations and cultures.

Independent experts are appointed by the Human Rights Council to examine and report back, in an unpaid capacity, on specific human rights themes.

“This decision, following a similar one by Brunei Darussalam and Qatar, marks a significant progress in realizing the right of all to take part in physical and sporting activities, and hence achieving greater gender equality in sport,” the Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Sport for Development and Peace, Wilfried Lemke, said in a news release.

“Decisions such as the one taken today by the Saudi Arabian authorities definitely set a positive example and bring us gradually closer to the realization of a more equitable future, on and off the field of play,” he added.

According to the International Olympic Committee, Saudi Arabia will send two female athletes – Wodjan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani, who will compete in judo, and Sarah Attar, who will compete in athletics – to the 2012 Games, which start on 27 July in the UK capital.

Lemke noted that the UN family, the Olympic Movement and their partners, have long worked together to promote the participation of women in sports activities and competitions, as well as in management and leadership roles.

“This is for instance reflected in the fact that today, at the Olympics, participation of athletes is almost equally balanced between women and men,” he said, adding, however, that women and girls still face today a great deal of discrimination and marginalization in all sectors of society around the world.

“This saddening reality applies to the world of sport, despite the remarkable advances made in that area over the past decades,” the Special Adviser said. “The practice of sport and physical activity, at all levels, can have immense benefits for individuals, communities and societies. No one should, on the basis of gender, race, ability, age, culture or religious considerations, be denied access to sport and miss on the positive effects its practice can bring.”

One of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) – anti-poverty and development targets agreed on by world leaders at a UN summit in 2000 – aims at “promoting gender equality and empowering women.” Mr. Lemke’s office has noted that sport has been recognised as a viable and practical tool to assist in the achievement of the MDGs.

In February, at the 5th World Conference on Women and Sport, organized by the IOC and attended by several UN officials, including Special Adviser Wilfried Lemke, participants adopted a declaration which said that “the promotion of women’s participation in sports activities, management and administration should, and must, serve the wider goal of supporting the international agenda of gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls.”