ISCA has developed the concept of the Human Right to MOVE to promote physical activity as an essential part of our existence. Last year it was the central theme of our MOVE Congress in Birmingham and now it is part of our mission: “We empower organisations worldwide to enable citizens to enjoy their human right to move.”

When ISCA was at the European Parliament in Brussels to promote No Elevators Day, we asked Members of European Parliament what they think of the Human Right to MOVE concept.

Watch the video here and read their responses below

Rory Palmer, Member of European Parliament, S&D, UK

“I think it’s a very interesting concept and certainly worth exploring and debating. I think we would need to be careful to make sure it wasn’t something that public authorities and governments could just pay lip service to, but it will be very important that we thought about how it would be implemented and it’s a right that people could enact. And that’s why it’s so important that we see member states and local governments investing in the right infrastructure, the right facilities to encourage people to move, to exercise, to take part in physical activity and sport.”

Jeroen Lenaers, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Netherlands

“I think everybody in the world should have the right to move, should have the right to play, should have the right to actively participate in sports and I think there should even be a human duty to move. If everybody moves, we are all fitter and as a society we’ll be healthier and we’ll be more prosper [sic].”

Miroslav Mikolasik, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Slovakia

“Look, this should be in schools, it should be in society, and I’m only sorry that some member states reduce the number of sports activities in their school curricula and I think we have to go the other way around and to promote sport and to have it like a right to health. It means that the right to move and the right to sport is part of the whole package.”

Bogdan Wenta, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Poland

“I think this is the time for this initiative as a practically fundamental right – it’s a human right to … discover… how important it is to move us – how important it is to do something for yourself, not only to go to the gym, not only to go to the sport club, but really around us. It really is a simple solution and that’s why I really appreciate such ideas as you propose.”

Seb Dance, Member of European Parliament, S&D, UK

“I look at my watch and see how many steps I’ve done each day and it’s pretty good in this place. But not everybody has that opportunity, not everybody can say to their employer, ‘Actually, I need to move. I can’t just be sat at this desk all day, I need to have elements of my work day that involve movement.’ It’s not easy, for example, to say to an employer ‘I want to take 20 minutes out of the day to be active, to move, to go for a walk’, or whatever it is. People need to have a sense of empowerment that they are entitled to that movement during the day, that it’s not just a leisure activity, it’s important to stay active throughout the day.”

Julie Ward, Member of European Parliament, S&D, UK

“It’s very important. I think that human rights should be the foundation for all our political work. So being reminded of some lesser known human rights, I think, is really significant. What we have to be really aware of is what are the barriers to that. So some people who have less mobility, people who, for example, have a physical or a sensory disability which makes it more difficult for them to engage in some activities, we need to remove those barriers. I think remembering the human right and promoting it and making people aware of it is really important. But then we have to fight to remove the barriers so that we can have true participation.”

Sean Kelly, Member of European Parliament, EPP, Ireland

“I think it’s a good idea, because the quality of life really decides everything. The better your quality of life, the happier you are, and of course health is intrinsic to that. So if you have people who are active and feel good in themselves, then that’s a very important aspect of developing quality of life… The more action we have, the more movement we have, the better. We weren’t meant to be stationary or sedentary, we were meant to move around.”