A/HRC/62/55 companies to prevent, mitigate and remedy human rights violations that they may cause or to which they may contribute and to conduct human rights due diligence regarding relevant business activities. In addition, the Guiding Principles establish government obligations and business responsibilities to ensure access to remedies for business-related human rights violations. V. Conclusions and recommendations A. Conclusions 55. Sport, as a vast, multidisciplinary and heterogenous phenomenon, holds a unique and powerful place in societies across the world. It is an area that encompasses personal development, cultural expression, economic activity and collective identity. Sport possesses significant potential to advance equality and diversity, challenge harmful racial stereotypes and foster solidarity across racial, ethnic and cultural divides. Yet this potential remains far from fully realized. Instead, sport – from the grass-roots level to the elite level – continues to reflect and, in many instances, reproduce the structural and systemic inequalities both within and between countries. 56. Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance are not isolated or exceptional phenomena within sport. They are pervasive, multilayered and often deeply entrenched. These dynamics are further intensified when viewed through an intersectional lens, which reveals how race, ethnicity, descent and caste intersect with gender, religion, migration status, disability and other grounds for discrimination to produce compounded and distinct harms. 57. Historical and ongoing structural forces continue to shape access to sport and experiences within it. These realities demonstrate that racism in sport cannot be addressed in isolation from broader systems of power and inequality at the national and international levels. In this sense, it is imperative that States implement the recommendations outlined below in the context of broader reparative justice approaches. Such approaches demand the identification, acknowledgement and remedy of the systemic nature of racism and intersectional discrimination as driven by crimes against humanity relating to colonialism, enslavement, apartheid, caste oppression and patriarchy and related legacies of ongoing oppression. 58. Sports governance bodies and related actors, despite their significant influence, have often failed to adequately prevent or respond to racism. Limited racial diversity within leadership, lack of transparency and participation in decision-making, and insufficient alignment with international human rights standards contribute to the persistence of discriminatory practices. Similarly, barriers to accessing effective remedies, due to complex legal pathways, high costs, fear of reprisals, and inadequate institutional responses, have fostered a climate of impunity that further entrenches injustice. 59. International human rights law provides a clear and comprehensive framework for addressing these challenges. These obligations require not only the consistent implementation of the prohibition of discrimination, but also proactive, sustained and systemic measures to achieve substantive equality. They also demand accountability, effective remedies and the meaningful participation of those most affected by discrimination in shaping policies and practices. 60. Ultimately, the eradication of racism in sport and the fulfilment of its potential as a force for positive change requires transformative change and partnership among multiple stakeholders. It calls for coordinated action by States, sports governance bodies, private sector actors, civil society and the international community. Efforts must move beyond symbolic gestures and reactive measures towards comprehensive strategies that address root causes, redistribute opportunities and dismantle entrenched power imbalances and racial hierarchies. GE.26-07112 15