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China: Olympics Sponsors in Spotlight as Games Loom
Address Rights Risks, Press IOC to Adopt Rights Policy (New York) – The International Olympic Committee’s major corporate sponsors should explain publicly how they are using their leverage to address human rights abuses in China ahead of the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, Human Rights Watch said today. Sponsors should also press the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to […]
China: A gold medal for repression
New ITUC research shows the actions of the Chinese Communist Party have made Beijing unsafe for athletes and others involved in the 2022 Winter Olympics, 4 – 20 February 2022. “China: A gold medal for repression” details five repressive policies of the ruling party that make China and the world less safe: repression and imprisonment in […]
TAOS Issues Statement Regarding Chicago Blackhawks Investigation Report
Following Jenner & Block’s release of the report titled “Report to the Chicago Blackhawks Hockey Team Regarding the Organization’s Response to Allegations of Sexual Misconduct by a Former Coach,” The Army of Survivors has issued the following statement: The Army of Survivors would like to extend support to the survivors who were mentioned in the […]
China’s Olympic Press Freedom Pledges: Worthless in 2008, Absent in 2022
Prospects for free-wheeling media coverage of the February Beijing Winter Olympics seem increasingly dim, not least because of the attitude of the International Olympic Committee. On October 13, John Coates, vice president of the International Olympic Committee, dismissed out of hand calls from CPJ, human rights groups, and US lawmakers to pressure Beijing over its abysmal […]
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 […]
Japan: Establish Safe Sport Center
Protect All Athletes as a Legacy of Tokyo Olympics, Paralympics (Tokyo) – The Japan Sports Agency and Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games should establish an independent national body to address the abuse of athletes in Japan, six Japanese and international nongovernmental organizations said today. Japan Safe Sport Joint Letter October 12, 2021 […]
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 & […]
Qatar: Failure to Investigate Migrant Worker Deaths Leaves Families in Despair
Qatari authorities have failed to investigate the deaths of thousands of migrant workers over the past decade, despite evidence of links between premature deaths and unsafe working conditions, Amnesty International said today. The organization’s new report, In the Prime of their Lives, documents how Qatar routinely issues death certificates for migrant workers without conducting adequate investigations, instead attributing deaths to “natural causes” […]
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 […]