Empowering Women and Girls in and Through Sport

A/HRC/RES/59/17View PDF

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A document of the Human Rights Council, under agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development, published in 2025.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 20	Human rights	433

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Entity	(Sub-)Programme	Title	Total mandates cited	Expenditure
	Programme 20	Human rights	433	—

Historical expenditure covers the complete programme or subprogramme, not this mandate. For an overview of all UN entities and programmes, see UN entities and programmes.

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 subjects

Empowerment Gender Equality Sports Women's Rights

What’s in this document?

18 operative paragraphs

Invites States to promote sport as a means to combat all forms of discrimination and violence against women and girls;

Encourages States and national, regional and international sport organizations and federations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights of women and girls and to promote their empowerment in and through sport, including by:

Enhancing the full, equal and meaningful participation of women and girls in sporting events at all levels;

Combating racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and discrimination based on religion or belief, in sport;

Harnessing the power of sport to change negative attitudes, foster equality and empower women and girls;

Developing laws and policies, including national action plans, where appropriate, to improve the full, equal and meaningful participation and empowerment of women and girls in and through sport;

Developing capacity and infrastructure to support the advancement of women and girls in all areas and at all levels of sport and physical activity, and improving sport infrastructure by designating or establishing facilities that respond to the specific needs of women and girls to ensure their full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership;

Taking appropriate measures, to the maximum of their available resources, to promote the participation of women and girls with disabilities in sport and recreational activities, including programmes and opportunities;

Introducing policies and initiatives that promote equality between men and women in sport at all levels, and making progress to achieve the full realization of women’s and girls’ rights and the targets set for Sustainable Development Goal 5;

Considering reducing pay gaps between men and women participants in sport;

Adopting measures to increase the representation of women in leadership positions at all levels in sports governance systems, including by eliminating structural barriers and setting up and implementing mentoring and capacity-building programmes to strengthen leadership skills of girls and young women in sport so they can become better equipped to exercise their rights;

Investing in capacity-building and mentorship programmes for women and girls to pursue careers in coaching, refereeing and other technical roles in sport;

Enhancing protection in sport through the creation of safer environments for women and girl participants, both online and offline, and committing to ending all forms of violence against women and girls, including, where appropriate, by developing tools and guidelines to prevent and respond to harassment and abuse, ensure such frameworks include clear complaint, referral and redress mechanisms, and end impunity, which perpetuates violence against women and girls in sport;

Promoting women’s and girls’ accessibility by addressing, inter alia, policies hindering the participation of women and girls in sporting activities and events, the enforcement of norms and rules, including dress codes, that undermine the rights and dignity of women and girls in sport, and the gaps in data and resources that are necessary to inform programmes and policies that address the effective representation of women and girls in sport;

Recognizes that media coverage is fundamental to advancing equality in sport and beyond, and encourages media outlets and organizations to increase their coverage of women and girls in sport, amplify women’s sporting achievements, promote positive role models and boost the number and visibility of women sports reporters and analysts at major events, and to address negative stereotypes and abuses against women and girls in sport, both online and offline;

Decides to convene at its sixty-second session a panel discussion on the intensification of efforts to empower women and girls in and through sport;

Requests the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to prepare a report on empowering women and girls in and through sport, based on the contributions of States, United Nations relevant agencies and other relevant stakeholders, and taking into account the outcome of the above-mentioned panel discussion, and to present the report to the Human Rights Council at its sixty-fifth session;

Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents

Who cites this mandate in the budget?