Meeting of the Group of Friends of Sport for Sustainable Development at the Permanent Mission of Monaco

On 19 June, the Group of Friends for Sport met at the Permanent Mission of the Principality of Monaco, for a dialogue with Mrs. Agnes MARCAILLOU, Director of the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and Mr. Nicolas PRON, Special Advisor to UNICEF for High Level Events, Initiatives and Partnerships.

This meeting was an opportunity to welcome H.E Mrs. Sheikha Alaya AHMED BIN SAIF AL-THANI, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations, as the new Co-Chair of this Group.

In her speech, Mrs. MARCAILLOU highlighted the devastating effects of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). She then presented the “Safe Ground” Campaign, which aims to clear minefields, giving them back to communities for play and sports activities, through leveraging partnerships with Member States, civil society, sports federations and the private sector. UNMAS cleared 151 buildings in Mosul, including a stadium near a refugee camp. Operations are also underway in Mogadishu, Cyprus and the Gaza Strip.

Mr. Nicolas PRON recalled the important partnership that UNICEF has forged with Special Olympics International since 2008, which benefits 50 countries in the fields of health care, education and recreational sports, for children with mental disabilities but also the members of their families. He focused on early childhood screening through the One World Play project.

Ms. Daniela BASS, Director of the Division for Inclusive Social Development (DESA), recalled the importance of the Kazan Action Plan and Mr. Maher NASSER, Director of the Division of Outreach (DCG) concluded by mentioning the next Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games and announced a future MoU with FIFA for the promotion of SDGs through sport.

https://www.un.int/news/promoting-global-goals-through-sport