A/HRC/35/41 35. Country visits enabled the Special Rapporteur to address the centrality of education and its role in enabling the enjoyment of other rights. The Special Rapporteur noted that there would be no significant progress in preventing racism and racial discrimination so long as groups that are discriminated against continue to stagnate or regress with regard to education. E. Racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in sports 36. In his report to the General Assembly in 2014 (A/69/340), the Special Rapporteur focused on the issue of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance in sports, pursuant to the call by the General Assembly in its resolution 58/160 to pay special attention to the increasing frequency of incidents of racism at various sporting events. 37. Although sports have the capacity to demystify racial superiority discourses, modern sports continue to be afflicted by incidents and patterns of racial violence, racial insults and racial intolerance on the field, in sports arenas as well as outside of them. 38. Racism in sports is manifested in various ways, including by the display of racist banners and flags, racist insults and attacks by fans, trivialization of racist chants, racist comments by club officials and managers during sporting events and unequal access to opportunities to participate in sports for ethnic minorities. Indeed, there are certain sports that are historically known as “white” or “elite” sports, including cycling, tennis, golf, equestrian events and swimming. Wealth plays an important role in restricting access to those sports and has a disproportionate impact on racial and ethnic minorities. 39. The Special Rapporteur considered the legal, policy and regulatory frameworks and measures taken at the international, regional and national levels to address this issue. At the international level, various human rights bodies and instruments address these issues. In its general recommendation No. 33 (2009) on follow-up to the Durban Review Conference, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination recommended that all international sporting bodies promote a world of sports free from racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance (para. 3 (c)). The United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace has also taken various initiatives to regulate and promote sports without discrimination. 40. At the regional level, various initiatives aimed at educating stakeholders and raising awareness of the issue have been taken. For example, Media against Racism in Sport Programme, a joint European Union and Council of Europe programme, is aimed at promoting diversity and non-discrimination in media production and content design, while the European Parliament adopted the Declaration on tackling racism in football, in 2006, which strongly condemns all forms of racism at football matches and notes that the popularity of football offers a new and continuous opportunity to tackle racism. At the national level, several positive initiatives have been taken by Governments and national sports federations to strengthen national frameworks to combat racism and racial discrimination. Civil society has also been active in raising awareness about racism and racial discrimination in sports and in combating such forms of intolerance. For example, Football against Racism in Europe (FARE) is a network of NGOs, amateur groups and supporter clubs in Europe that works to advance the social inclusion of marginalized and disenfranchised groups and to engage policymakers, key players and governing bodies in the anti-discrimination movement. 41. Unfortunately, racism continues to stalk sports. Sports federations and associations as well as relevant regulatory authorities still need to do more. In some cases, penalties have been too lenient to effectively send a message of zero tolerance on racism. The Special Rapporteur considers sports an important opportunity to leverage popular appeal, the influence of sportspeople and the power of regulating agencies to effectively eliminate racism from sports. 9