A/HRC/62/55 itself throughout the different stages of an athlete’s participation in sport. 36 The Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights have both highlighted how people of African descent often face stereotypes that emphasize natural physical prowess over skills, hard work, leadership and intellectual abilities.37 25. Given the importance of racial representation at all levels, the Special Rapporteur is concerned by the different manifestations of racism that contribute to barriers and obstacles that persons from marginalized racial and ethnic groups must overcome to be able to participate in different sports. These forms of racism not only violate the right to equality and non-discrimination among affected individuals but also have a more systemic detrimental impact on adequate racial representation.38 Given the persistence of such racial disparities, the Special Rapporteur stresses the significant potential of special measures within different levels of sports. As such, she is disappointed not to have received any information from States or sports governance organizations about the application of any such special measures. E. Structural underrepresentation in sports governance 26. The Special Rapporteur received several submissions detailing how persons from racialized groups, including individuals with experiences of intersectional discrimination, such as women, are significantly underrepresented in sports governance bodies.39 While there are emblematic and important examples of persons, including women, from racialized groups reaching senior positions in sports governance,40 overall trends in underrepresentation and related invisibilization persist. A multitude of interconnected factors contribute to the persistent and systemic underrepresentation of racialized groups within sporting governance. These reportedly include the absence of special measures that are implemented effectively and with the assurance of accountability for non-compliance; the consequences of “racial stacking” practices, which leave athletes from racialized groups less well positioned to transition into sports governance roles; entry-level diversity measures that do not translate to better representation within senior leadership roles; implicit bias embedded within recruitment, promotion and evaluation processes; disproportionately high attrition rates among persons who experience manifestations of systemic racism; significant gaps in racially and ethnically disaggregated data used to monitor representation within sports governance bodies; and a lack of political will within the senior levels of sports governance to take the steps necessary to address systemic underrepresentation. 27. This structural underrepresentation is concerning. The representation of persons from marginalized racial and ethnic groups within sporting governance roles is potentially an important way to disrupt structural and systemic forms of racism within sports. With sport being a multibillion-dollar and growing industry, governance organizations, particularly at the elite level, can be powerful institutions that determine who can and who cannot participate. They also often have the power and resources to prevent and act in cases of racism and hate speech directed toward athletes and/or fans. 41 The potential for sports governance bodies to act against racism is currently not being fully realized. 28. While there are significant gaps in the research and data, particularly regarding these phenomena in the global South, the information that is available reveals systemic underrepresentation. Research suggests that a very significant majority of senior governing 36 37 38 39 40 41 GE.26-07112 Submission from Juan Pierre and Mouvman Lavwa Dime. See A/79/299 and A/HRC/60/69. See A/HRC/60/69. See, for example, submissions from Juan Pierre and Mouvman Lavwa Dime and from FAIR – Fide Research Monitoring Reporting. Submission from the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Submission from Iraq. 9