By Mark Baber
March 21 – Today is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. This year the theme, chosen by the UN Human Rights Office, is racism in sports.
The annual anti-racism day commemorates the anniversary of the 1960 Sharpeville massacre when peaceful demonstrators were shot by police in apartheid South Africa for protesting racially discriminatory laws.
Today’s events are designed, according to the UN, to not only “highlight the problem of racism in sports” but also to “raise awareness of the role sports can play in combating racism and racial discrimination.”
UN Human Rights Chief, Navi Pillay said, “There is no place for racism and intolerance in sport… Sport is meant to foster social cohesion, bring different cultures together in a celebration of healthy competition, and to overcome the diffidence and even contempt that all too often divide countries and communities in the political and social arenas.”
At an event in Geneva organised by the UN Human Rights Office, Kevin-Prince Boateng, from AC Milan, Edgar Davids, ex-Dutch international and Patrick Vieira of Arsenal and France, as well as UEFA and FIFA officials, will be sharing their views on racism in football.
Today’s event can be followed on social media through the #FightRacism.
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