Human Rights in sports

Sport & Rights Alliance Raises Concerns over FIFA’s Surprise Selection of UAE to Host 2021 Club World Cup

Gianni Infantino, President of FIFA, announced on Wednesday that the global football governing body has selected the United Arab Emirates to host the Club World Cup 2022. Since 2017, FIFA has made important progress in terms of its human rights responsibilities, including adopting policies that ensure a human rights risk assessment for host countries and […]

Mali: Inquiry Links Basketball Federation to Sexual Abuse

Sport & Rights Alliance Calls for Protection, Remedy, Governance Reform (Nyon, Switzerland, 27 September, 2021) —The International Basketball Federation’s (FIBA)  report on systemic sexual harassment and abuse within the Mali Basketball Federation (FMBB) vindicates the victims of abuse, survivors, whistleblowers, and activists who took enormous risks to bring this abuse to light, the Sport & […]

US Paralympian Compelled to Withdraw from Tokyo Games

Sports Federations Need to Ensure Reasonable Accommodation for All Athletes The Tokyo Paralympic Games begin this week with thousands of Paralympic athletes from around the world competing in 539 events in 22 sports. Sadly, one athlete who had earned a place on the United States team won’t be there. Rebecca Meyers, 26, a Paralympic World Record holder who competed […]

Higher, Faster — Harsher: The Olympics Head to Beijing

The Chinese Government’s Human Rights Record is Abysmal As the Summer Olympics in Tokyo wrap up, eyes are turning to the February 2022 winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing, China – a country in the midst of its worst human rights crackdown sincethe Tiananmen Massacre in 1989. The Chinese government is persecuting millions of Uyghurs […]

Belarus: Crackdown on Athletes

In this, the final briefing in Amnesty International’s #StandWithBelarus campaign, we highlight the role Belarusian athletes have played in bringing to the world’s attention human rights violations committed by the government. Sport administration is under direct government control in Belarus and athletes who speak out put their careers and their freedom at stake.

Belarus Athlete’s Plight Spotlights Olympic Failure

International Olympic Committee Should Adopt Human Rights Policy On Sunday, Belarusian track and field athlete Krystsina Timanovskaya refused to let government authorities forcibly return her to Belarus from the Olympics, seeking instead protection at Tokyo’s international airport.  She has since reportedly been offered asylum in Poland. Timanovskaya, a 200-meter sprinter, said she feared for her safety […]