The States Parties to the present Convention,
Recalling the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations,
in which all Members pledged themselves to take joint and separate action, in
co-operation with the Organization, for the achievement of universal respect for,
and observance of, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all without distinction
as to race, sex, language or religion,
Considering that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaims
that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that
everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in the Declaration
without distinction of any kind, particularly in regard to race, colour or national
origin,
Observing that, in accordance with the International Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, States Parties to
that Convention particularly condemn racial segregation and apartheid and undertake
to prevent, prohibit and eradicate all practices of this nature in all fields,
Observing that the General Assembly of the United Nations
has adopted a number of resolutions condemning the practice of apartheid in
sports and has affirmed its unqualified support for the Olympic principle that
no discrimination be allowed on the grounds of race, religion or political affiliation
and that merit should be the sole criterion for participation in sports activities,
Considering that the International Declaration against Apartheid
in Sports, which was adopted by the General Assembly on 14 December 1977, solemnly
affirms the necessity for the speedy elimination of apartheid in sports,
Recalling the provisions of the International Convention on
the Suppression and Punishment of the Crime of Apartheid and recognizing, in
particular, that participation in sports exchanges with teams selected on the
basis of apartheid directly abets and encourages the commission of the crime
of apartheid, as defined in that Convention,
Resolved to adopt all necessary measures to eradicate the
practice of apartheid in sports and to promote international sports contacts
based on the Olympic principle,
Recognizing that sports contact with any country practising
apartheid in sports condones and strengthens apartheid in violation of the Olympic
principle and thereby becomes the legitimate concern of all Governments,
Desiring to implement the principles embodied in the International
Declaration against Apartheid in Sports and to secure the earliest adoption
of practical measures to that end,
Convinced that the adoption of an International Convention
against Apartheid in Sports would result in more effective measures at the international
and national levels, with a view to eliminating apartheid in sports,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
For the purposes of the present Convention:
- The expression "apartheid" shall mean a system of institutionalized
racial segregation and discrimination for the purpose of establishing and
maintaining domination by one racial group of persons over another racial
group of persons and systematically oppressing them, such as that pursued
by South Africa, and "apartheid in sports" shall mean the application of the
policies and practices of such a system in sports activities, whether organized
on a professional or an amateur basis;
- The expression "national sports facilities" shall mean any sports facility
operated within the framework of a sports programme conducted under the auspices
of a national government;
- The expression "Olympic principle" shall mean the principle that no discrimination
be allowed on the grounds of race, religion or political affiliation;
- The expression "sports contracts" shall mean any contract concluded for
the organization, promotion, performance or derivative rights, including servicing,
of any sports activity;
- The expression "sports bodies" shall mean any organization constituted
to organize sports activities at the national level, including national Olympic
committees, national sports federations or national governing sports committees;
- The expression "team" shall mean a group of sportsmen organized for the
purpose of participating in sports activities in competition with other such
organized groups;
- The expression "sportsmen" shall mean men and women who participate in
sports activities on an individual or team basis, as well as managers, coaches,
trainers and other officials whose functions are essential for the operation
of a team.
Article 2
States Parties strongly condemn apartheid and undertake to
pursue immediately by all appropriate means the policy of eliminating the practice
of apartheid in all its forms from sports.
Article 3
States Parties shall not permit sports contact with a country
practising apartheid and shall take appropriate action to ensure that their
sports bodies, teams, and individual sportsmen do not have such contact.
Article 4
States Parties shall take all possible measures to prevent
sports contact with a country practising apartheid and shall ensure that effective
means exist for bringing about compliance with such measures.
Article 5
States Parties shall refuse to provide financial or other
assistance to enable their sports bodies, teams and individual sportsmen to
participate in sports activities in a country practising apartheid or with teams
or individual sportsmen selected on the basis of apartheid.
Article 6
Each State Party shall take appropriate action against its
sports bodies, teams and individual sportsmen that participate in sports activities
in a country practising apartheid or with teams representing a country practising
apartheid, which in particular shall include:
- Refusal to provide financial or other
assistance for any purpose to such sports bodies, teams and individual sportsmen;
- Restriction of access to national
sports facilities by such sports bodies, teams and individual sportsmen;
- Non-enforceability of all sports contracts
which involve sports activities in a country practising apartheid or with
teams or individual sportsmen selected on the basis of apartheid;
- Denial and withdrawal of national honours
or awards in sports to such teams and individual sportsmen;
- Denial of official receptions in honour of
such teams or sportsmen.
Article 7
States Parties shall deny visas and/or entry to representatives
of sports bodies, teams and individual sportsmen representing a country practising
apartheid.
Article 8
States Parties shall take all appropriate action to secure
the expulsion of a country practising apartheid from international and regional
sports bodies.
Article 9
States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to prevent
international sports bodies from imposing financial or other penalties on affiliated
bodies which, in accordance with United Nations resolutions, the provisions
of the present Convention and the spirit of the Olympic principle, refuse to
participate in sports with a country practising apartheid.
Article 10
- States Parties shall use their best endeavours
to ensure universal compliance with the Olympic principles of non-discrimination
and the provisions of the present Convention.
- Towards this end, States Parties shall prohibit
entry into their countries of members of teams and individual sportsmen participating
or who have participated in sports competitions in South Africa and shall
prohibit entry into their countries of representatives of sports bodies, members
of teams and individual sportsmen who invite on their own initiative sports
bodies, teams and sportsmen officially representing a country practising apartheid
and participating under its flag. States Parties may also prohibit entry of
representatives of sports bodies, members of teams or individual sportsmen
who maintain sports contacts with sports bodies, teams or sportsmen representing
a country practising apartheid and participating under its flag. Prohibition
of entry should not violate the regulations of the relevant sports federations
which support the elimination of apartheid in sports and shall apply only
to participation in sports activities.
- States Parties shall advise their national
representatives to international sports federations to take all possible and
practical steps to prevent the participation of the sports bodies, teams and
sportsmen referred to in paragraph 2 above in international sports competitions
and shall, through their representatives in international sports organizations,
take every possible measure:
- To ensure the expulsion of South
Africa from all federations in which it still holds membership as well
as to deny South Africa reinstatement to membership in any federation
from which it has been expelled;
- In case of national federations condoning
sports exchanges with a country practising apartheid, to impose sanctions
against such national federations including, if necessary, expulsion from
the relevant international sports organization and exclusion of their
representatives from participation in international sports competitions.
- In cases of flagrant violations of the provisions
of the present Convention, States Parties shall take appropriate action as
they deem fit, including, where necessary, steps aimed at the exclusion of
the responsible national sports governing bodies, national sports federations
or sportsmen of the countries concerned from international sports competition.
- The provisions of the present article relating
specifically to South Africa shall cease to apply when the system of apartheid
is abolished in that country.
Article 11
- There shall be established a Commission against
Apartheid in Sports (hereinafter referred to as "the Commission") consisting
of fifteen members of high moral character and committed to the struggle against
apartheid, particular attention being paid to participation of persons having
experience in sports administration, elected by the States Parties from among
their nationals, having regard to the most equitable geographical distribution
and the representation of the principal legal systems.
- The members of the Commission shall be elected
by secret ballot from a list of persons nominated by the States Parties. Each
State Party may nominate one person from among its own nationals.
- The initial election shall be held six months
after the date of the entry into force of the present Convention. At least
three months before the date of each election, the Secretary-General of the
United Nations shall address a letter to the States Parties inviting them
to submit their nominations within two months. The Secretary-General shall
prepare a list in alphabetical order of all persons thus nominated, indicating
the States Parties which have nominated them, and shall submit it to the States
Parties.
- Elections of the members of the Commission
shall be held at a meeting of States Parties convened by the ecretary-General
at United Nations Headquarters. At that meeting, for which two thirds of the
States Parties shall constitute a quorum, the persons elected to the Commission
shall be those nominees who obtain the largest number of votes and an absolute
majority of the votes of the representatives of States Parties present and
voting.
- The members of the Commission shall be elected
for a term of four years. However, the terms of nine of the members elected
at the first election shall expire at the end of two years; immediately after
the first election, the names of these nine members shall be chosen by lot
by the Chairman of the Commission.
- For the filling of casual vacancies, the State
Party whose national has ceased to function as a member of the Commission
shall appoint another person from among its nationals, subject to the approval
of the Commission.
- States Parties shall be responsible for the
expenses of the members of the Commission while they are in performance of
Commission duties.
Article 12
- States Parties undertake to submit to the Secretary-General of the United
Nations, for consideration by the Commission, a report on the legislative,
judicial, administrative or other measures which they have adopted to give
effect to the provisions of the present Convention within one year of its
entry into force and thereafter every two years. The Commission may request
further information from the States Parties.
- The Commission shall report annually through the Secretary General to the
General Assembly of the United Nations on its activities and may make suggestions
and general recommendations based on the examination of the reports and information
received from the States Parties. Such suggestions and recommendations shall
be reported to the General Assembly together with comments, if any, from States
Parties concerned.
- The Commission shall examine, in particular, the implementation of the
provisions of article 10 of the present Convention and make recommendations
on action to be undertaken.
- A meeting of States Parties shall be convened by the Secretary-General
at the request of a majority of the States Parties to consider further action
with respect to the implementation of the provisions of article 10 of the
present Convention. In cases of flagrant violation of the provisions of the
present Convention, a meeting of States Parties shall be convened by the Secretary-General
at the request of the Commission.
Article 13
- Any State Party may at any time declare that it recognizes the competence
of the Commission to receive and examine complaints concerning breaches of
the provisions of the present Convention submitted by States Parties which
have also made such a declaration. The Commission may decide on the appropriate
measures to be taken in respect of breaches.
- States Parties against which a complaint has been made, in accordance with
paragraph 1 of the present article, shall be entitled to be represented and
take part in the proceedings of the Commission.
Article 14
- The Commission shall meet at least once a year.
- The Commission shall adopt its own rules of procedure.
- The secretariat of the Commission shall be provided by the Secretary-General
of the United Nations.
- The meetings of the Commission shall normally be held at United Nations
Headquarters.
- The Secretary-General shall convene the initial meeting of the Commission.
Article 15
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall be the depositary
of the present Convention.
Article 16
- The present Convention shall be open for signature at United Nations Headquarters
by all States until its entry into force.
- The present Convention shall be subject to ratification, acceptance or
approval by the signatory States.
Article 17
The present Convention shall be open for accession by all
States.
Article 18
- The present Convention shall enter into force on the thirtieth day after
the date of deposit with the Secretary-General of the United Nations of the
twenty-seventh instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession.
- For each State ratifying, accepting, approving or acceding to the present
Convention after its entry into force, the Convention shall enter into force
on the thirtieth day after the date of deposit of the relevant instrument.
Article 19
Any dispute between States Parties arising out of the interpretation,
application or implementation of the present Convention which is not settled
by negotiation shall be brought before the International Court of Justice at
the request and with the mutual consent of the States Parties to the dispute,
save where the Parties to the dispute have agreed on some other form of settlement.
Article 20
- Any State Party may propose an amendment or revision to the present Convention
and file it with the depositary. The Secretary-General of the United Nations
shall thereupon communicate the proposed amendment or revision to the States
Parties with a request that they notify him whether they favour a conference
of States Parties for the purpose of considering and voting upon the proposal.
In the event that at least one third of the States Parties favour such a conference,
the Secretary-General shall convene the conference under the auspices of the
United Nations. Any amendment or revision adopted by the majority of the States
Parties present and voting at the conference shall be submitted to the General
Assembly of the United Nations for approval.
- Amendments or revisions shall come into force when they have been approved
by the General Assembly and accepted by a two-thirds majority of the States
Parties, in accordance with their respective constitutional processes.
- When amendments or revisions come into force, they shall be binding on
those States Parties which have accepted them, other States Parties still
being bound by the provisions of the present Convention and any earlier amendment
or revision which they have accepted.
Article 21
A State Party may withdraw from the present Convention by
written notification to the depositary. Such withdrawal shall take effect one
year after the date of receipt of the notification by the depositary.
Article 22
The present Convention has been concluded in Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish, all texts being equally authentic.