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Get the latest news and updates from our partners on the human rights issues in and around the world of sport.
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FIFA Men’s World Cup Qatar 2022
In 2022, Qatar will host the FIFA Men’s World Cup – an historic moment as it will be the first time the tournament has ever been held in the Middle East. Scores of football stadiums and other facilities are being built for this event by migrant workers. Their working conditions are brutal, rife with coercion and […]
Beijing Olympics 2022
Happening just six months after the delayed Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, all eyes turn toward China for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics. Just as in 2008, the Communist Party of China will continue its legacy of sportswashing – using these Games to distract from its major human rights abuses. This Olympics will also provide the opportunity […]
KAZAKHSTAN: candidate 2026 World Cup Football
Kazakhstan is candidate for hosting the World Cup Football in 2026. The human rights record of the country is poor. Beautiful words cover up bad practices: Kazakhstan “will not rest until torture is completely eliminated”, the government announced. But torture is still taking place. The freedom of expression, association and assembly are restricted. Peaceful protesters […]
HUMAN RIGHTS AND SPORTS : Amnesty’s recommendations
Amnesty International has the following recommendations in order to stop or prevent human rights violations related to major sporting events: • States hosting a major sporting event should ensure rights are not violated in the context of this event. • The organizing bodies, like IOC and FIFA, should have in place robust due diligence procedures […]
VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS AT SPORTING EVENTS: who is responsible
In relation to major sporting events, like the World Cup or the Olympic Games, Amnesty International distinguishes two forms of human rights violations. • Violations directly related to the staging or hosting of the event. Examples are forced evictions carried out to construct sports stadiums or other infrastructure, or labour exploitation in the construction sector […]
AZERBAIJAN: 2015 European Games
‘All fundamental freedoms are honoured in Azerbaijan,’ said President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan in June 2014. Solemn words. But not true. In Azerbaijan, human rights defenders, journalists, politicians and bloggers are arrested, detained and silenced. While the spotlights are on the country during the first European Games in June 2015, the repression only gets worse. […]
IOC Agenda 2020 – Involvement of NGOs and Civil Society
As leading non-governmental organizations in the area of human rights, including children’s rights, labor rights and anti-corruption as well as official representatives of professional football players and supporters, we are joining forces to cooperate on the issue of “Mega-Sporting- Events”
United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
These Guiding Principles are grounded in recognition of: (a) States’ existing obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights and fundamental freedoms; (b) The role of business enterprises as specialized organs of society performing specialized functions, required to comply with all applicable laws and to respect human rights; (c) The need for rights and obligations […]
World Cup Soccer Balls: Exploitation Still the Norm
As the frenzy grows over the upcoming FIFA World Cup in South Africa, there is a part of the World Cup that won’t be broadcast on TV. The Play Fair Alliance today asked FIFA to respond to the report “Missed the Goal for Workers: the Reality of Soccer Ball Stitchers”, released by US-based NGO International […]
Sport & Rights Alliance Backs Human Rights Advisory Board Call for FIFA to be Accountable on Human Rights
(Nyon, Switzerland, April 14, 2020) — FIFA should back its 2017 Human Rights Policy by ensuring accountability, transparency and remedy at the highest levels of football, a landmark report by FIFA’s independent human rights advisory board has recommended. This recommendation has the full endorsement of the Sport & Rights Alliance – a coalition of non-governmental organizations and […]