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Olympics: Kirsty Coventry Elected President of IOC
Sport & Rights Alliance Calls on New President to Prioritize Human Rights and Good Governance (Amsterdam, 20 March 2025) — Kirsty Coventry has just made history as the first woman to be elected president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). While this is an important achievement, we call on the new president to use her […]
Olympics: Presidential Candidates Need to Step Up on Rights
Lack of Priority for IOC Human Rights Policies Poses Risk to Athletes, Fans, Workers (Amsterdam, February 26, 2025) – Candidates for the presidency of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) failed to adequately address human rights and good governance in documents outlining their proposed programs, in advance of March elections, the Sport & Rights Alliance said […]
United States: Trump administration denies people right to play and fails to protect women
Executive order goes against United Nations and human rights experts (Amsterdam, February 7, 2025) – The Sport & Rights Alliance vehemently rejects the executive order signed by US President Donald Trump which aims at excluding trans, gender-diverse, and intersex people from competing in sports at all levels. “The right to play sports should be available […]
Olympic athletes should be paid and heard, says public poll
Next president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) must make the Games fair and share proceeds with athletes (Nyon, Switzerland, 23 January 2025) UNI World Players, a sector of UNI Global Union, has carried out the first-ever public poll to assess awareness and attitudes regarding athletes’ rights and representation at the Olympic Games. The poll of […]
Submission to UN Human Rights Report on Combating Discrimination and Violence Against Intersex Persons
Ensuring the Rights of Intersex Athletes to Safe, Inclusive Sports Environments The LGBTI community faces numerous, often unique challenges when it comes to their right to participate in sport. Discriminatory narratives, exclusionary policies, and pervasive online harassment are just a few of the significant obstacles that hinder their ability to engage and enjoy in sports […]
Award of 2034 Men’s World Cup to Saudi Arabia risks lives and exposes FIFA’s empty human rights commitments
Joint Statement Today’s confirmation of Saudi Arabia as host of the 2034 FIFA men’s World Cup, despite the well-known and severe risks to residents, migrant workers and visiting fans alike, marks a moment of great danger. It should also mark a moment for change. As global and regional human rights organisations, trade unions, fans groups […]
Mega Sport Events and Human Rights: Focus of New University of West of Scotland Film
Mega sporting events and human rights are at the centre of a new documentary film produced by University of the West of Scotland (UWS) in collaboration with an international group of academic and non-academic partners. The film, titled EventRights: Progressing Human Rights in Sport Events was produced by UWS’ FIRE base, as an outcome of […]
ILO commits to expert meeting to enhance athlete rights and representation globally
Expert meeting to follow up on Inaugural Global Dialogue Forum on Decent Work in the World of Sort The International Labour Organization (ILO), the United Nations agency responsible for promoting dignified working conditions worldwide has agreed to convene an expert meeting on athlete rights and representation, which will be held in early 2026. The decision […]
Global: FIFA should halt process for 2034 World Cup bid and demand credible human rights strategy for 2030
High stakes bids: Dangerously flawed human rights strategies for the 2030 and 2034 FIFA World Cups FIFA should halt the process to select Saudi Arabia as the host of the 2034 men’s World Cup unless major human rights reforms are announced before a vote of FIFA members next month, Amnesty International and the Sport & […]
Flawed Human Rights Assessment of Saudi Arabia’s Bid for 2034 FIFA World Cup
Human rights groups, football supporters, worker organisations express “deep concern” at global law firm’s flawed World Cup 2034 assessment A flawed human rights assessment of Saudi Arabia’s FIFA 2034 World Cup bid by AS&H Clifford Chance – part of the global partnership of London-based law firm Clifford Chance – leaves the global firm at risk […]
Trans, Gender Diverse and Intersex Inclusion in Sports is a Human Right
This statement calls for inclusive approaches to ensure that everyone, regardless of gender identity or sex characteristics, can participate safely and equitably in sports. We, the undersigned organizations and individuals committed to gender equality, human rights, social justice, and LGBTIQ+ rights, welcome the report on the right to participate in sports by Alexandra Xanthaki, the […]
Olympics: Overturn Athlete’s Disqualification for Speaking Out
Olympic Authorities Violated Manizha Talash’s Right to Free Expression (Nyon, August 16, 2024) – The disqualification of the Olympic breaking athlete Manizha Talash for promoting gender equality should be overturned and remedied, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. Talash, an Afghan refugee breaker known as “b-girl Talash,” was disqualified from the Paris 2024 Olympics’ breaking competition […]