The Olympic Games

Learn about the biggest human rights issues surrounding the Olympic Games with the latest from Sport & Rights Alliance partners.

Olympics: Human Rights Amendments Should Be Implemented Without Exceptions

IOC Set to Vote on Proposed Changes to Olympic Charter (Nyon, Switzerland, 9 October 2023) – After years of public pressure and internal deliberations, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is set to adopt amendments to the Olympic Charter in the coming days that include potentially game-changing references to internationally recognized human rights, the Sport & […]

Olympic Committee’s Rights Commitments Tested in India

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is holding its 140th annual session from October 15 to 17 in Mumbai, India, where the government is expected to announce its bid to host the 2036 Summer Olympic Games in the western state of Gujarat. India has never hosted the Olympics and the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi believes that now is […]

Olympics: Act on Sex Abuse Complaints by Indian Athletes

Sport & Rights Alliance Calls for Independent Investigation After Protesters Detained (Nyon, Switzerland) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should immediately act to ensure reports of alleged sexual abuse of athletes by the president of the Wrestling Federation of India, Brij Bhushan Sharan Singh, are investigated fully, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. In a statement on May […]

Switzerland: Parliament Must Ensure Respect for Human Rights by Sports Federations 

Bern (6 June 2023) – Strong measures are needed to ensure that sports federations based in Switzerland comply with their human rights due diligence obligations, says Amnesty International. The human rights organization, together with the global coalition Sport & Rights Alliance, is calling on the Swiss Parliament to support two policy initiatives that seek to […]

France: Intrusive Olympics Surveillance Technologies Could Usher in a Dystopian Future

French lawmakers must reject any plans to use video surveillance powered by artificial intelligence (AI) at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Such draconian technologies of mass surveillance violate the rights to privacy and can lead to violations of the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. This could result into dystopian levels of surveillance in […]

Ban Taliban from the Olympic Movement

Forcing Afghan Women, Girls Out of Sport Violates IOC Charter (New York) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should suspend Taliban-run Afghanistan from participating in international sport until women and girls can once again play sport in the country, Human Rights Watch said today. The IOC should make this decision at its next executive board meeting, which […]