The Permanent Mission of the State of Qatar to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva in collaboration with Qatar Foundation, Qatar Olympic Committee, and International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS), held a high-level side event on empowering women in sport.

Organized on the margins of the 58th session of Human Rights Council currently held in Geneva, the event featured keynote speakers, namely HE Minister of State for International Cooperation Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al Misnad, HE Secretary-General of Qatar Olympic Committee (QOC) Jassim bin Rashid Al Buainain, and Chairman of ICSS Mohammed bin Hanzab.

Moderated by Executive Director at the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform, Dr. Annyssa Bellal, the event brought together Key panelists, namely CEO of ICSS Massimiliano Montanari, Communications Executive Director at Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, Fatma Al Nuaimi, ambassador of peace and sport, Sylvia Poll, Ana Luiza Massot Thompson-Flores from UNESCO, and the Qatari equestrian, Mariam Al Buainain.

Over 120 participants representing diplomatic missions, relevant international and regional organizations, alongside civil society organizations engaged in sports, human rights, peace, and development took part in this event, with Doha Forum, Media City Qatar and Geneva Peacebuilding Platform patronizing the event.

HE Al Misnad underscored the importance of holding this event on the margins of the Human Rights Council, affirming that this convention would give a profound significance and meaning. She emphasized that sport and human rights are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.

Her Excellency stressed that sport, as an international language, performs a substantial role in entrenching numerous human rights precepts and values, such as partnership, justice, cooperation, fraternity and tolerance.

Through the rules of respect that govern sporting tournaments, all barriers are surmounted, in addition to bridging social, cultural, and economic divides both within societies and among communities and nations on a broader scale, thereby fostering solidarity, advancing peace, and promoting harmonious coexistence, HE Al Misnad underlined.

Her Excellency pointed out that practicing sport is part and parcel of individuals' rights to enjoy the highest level of health and mental fitness, stressing that these rights should be equally afforded to all community members as enshrined in human rights charters.

Women have the full right to engage in sport activities, which requires the enforcement of comprehensive measures at all levels, Her Excellency stressed, highlighting that these measures include providing equal opportunities and essential resources, ensuring access to appropriate sports facilities, and crafting policies and legislation that guarantee safe participation.

Emphasis should be placed on respecting the religious privacy of women, especially when designing sports facilities and establishing rules for participation in regional and global sporting tournaments, she added.

HE Al Misnad indicated that the State of Qatar gives foremost priority to sport at the domestic level, as demonstrated in the third National Development Strategy 2024-2030, which aims to build a sports community that enjoys a high quality of life, in sync with the Qatar's National Vision 2030. She pointed out that Qatar has devoted a special day for sports that is held annually.

Her Excellency highlighted that the State of Qatar invests in hosting mega sporting events to spread the culture of fraternity, solidarity, peace and human rights among nations as the foremost values that Qatar recognizes and strives to deepen them as part of its international cooperation.

She underlined that hosting the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the region's premier sporting event, was a unique opportunity to promote those values, noting that the preparation for this tournament involved a team of over 300 women.

The State of Qatar has diligently worked to advance womens sports by providing full opportunities for women to engage in physical activities, as well as national, regional, and global competitions. This has been achieved through the establishment of dedicated institutions and provision of all essential resources that promote female participation across all sports, rendering athletics an appealing pursuit for women of all ages, she highlighted.

Her Excellency noted that the prudent leadership in Qatar has contributed to empowering the Qatari women to dominate upper echelons in numerous individual and group tournaments, domestically and internationally, emphasizing that Qatar is proud of numerous Qatari women who clinched gold medals in several international competitions.

The State of Qatar has decided to dedicate a fund for womens empowerment in sport, through which concerned entities in Qatar will closely collaborate with interested partners to design creative projects that would foster partnership and ensure accessibility to sports, in addition to increasing their representation at all levels.

In her opening remarks, HE Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to the UN Office in Geneva, Dr. Hind Abdulrahman Al Muftah, highlighted the massive potential of sport in breaking barriers and making social change, emphasizing that sport promotes the values of unity, cooperation and resilience and contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

HE Al Muftah stressed the importance of pursuing the initiatives that support women's engagement in sport, as long as their empowerment represents a real investment in a brighter future and a tight-knit community.

Her Excellency highlighted the challenges that impede women's engagement in sport activities, such as underrepresentation in leadership roles, wage gaps, and inadequate resources and training opportunities, while considering cultural and religious differences.

She stressed the need for concrete actions and inclusive policies to ensure women's rights and equal opportunities for participation and representation in sports.

For their part, the speakers thanked the State of Qatar for its persistent interest in empowering women in sport, praising its outstanding efforts, alongside its initiative to dedicate a fund to women empowerment in sport. They underscored the importance of backing this fund through maximizing efforts to forge ironclad partnerships and providing essential resources.

They emphasized that such an initiative represents a major step toward enhancing equality in opportunities and increasing women's representation in various sporting forums.