Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

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 & Rights Alliance said today. However, by simultaneously reinforcing the IOC Executive Board’s broad powers to limit athletes’ fundamental freedoms, the IOC continues to lag behind on defining athlete rights in accordance with international human rights standards. 

“The IOC’s charter amendments are a critical step toward fulfilling its responsibility as the leader of a vast global industry with enormous human rights impacts,” said Minky Worden, director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. “Human rights and the responsibility to respect them should not be diminished, limited or ignored. Even with the IOC’s problematic language, this move sends an important message that all of global sport needs to come in line with international human rights standards.” 

Building on the commitments made in the IOC’s Strategic Framework on Human Rights in September 2022, and in consultation with the IOC’s Advisory Committee on Human Rights, the IOC Executive Board finally proposed human rights amendments to Fundamental Principles of Olympism 1 and 4 in early September 2023. However, the second set of proposed amendments specifically targets athletes by making the exercise of their rights subject to unilaterally imposed “Guidelines determined by the IOC Executive Board,” which are not in line with internationally recognized human rights. 

This risks restricting athletes’ ability to speak out about human rights issues and organise collectively for better conditions, and exposes them to reprisals for exercising other fundamental freedoms – leaving athletes behind in the IOC’s implementation of its commitment in its Strategic Framework to respecting human rights.

“Athletes have long demanded that sport bodies incorporate human rights standards into their governing documents to address the systemic abuse, violations, discrimination and exploitation in sport. However, the IOC continues to impose a different set of rules when it comes to athlete rights, which undermines this goal,” said Ginous Alford, director of sport and human rights at World Players Association. “The IOC and its Human Rights Advisory Committee should heed calls from athletes and other stakeholders to clarify the Olympic Movement’s responsibilities to respect the fundamental rights and dignity of athletes as workers and human beings.”

After years of advocacy from Sport & Rights Alliance members and other representatives of athletes, fans and other affected groups, the IOC has taken steps to align its governance and operations with its human rights responsibilities. At the same time, the sport governing body has faltered over and resisted the changes needed to embed the human rights of the very people for whom it has the most responsibility: the athletes. 

“The inclusion of human rights in the Olympic Charter is a strong signal that it is time for the sporting world to get serious about living up to its responsibilities and seizing the opportunities to drive positive social change,” said Steve Cockburn, head of economic and social justice at Amnesty International. “The proof of this commitment will, of course, be in its implementation and its impact on the athletes, workers, fans, journalists and host communities who all have a stake in the Olympic movement.”

In May 2022, the IOC published a progress report acknowledging its responsibility to “respect human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the UN Guiding Principles),” and committing to “amending the Olympic Charter to better articulate human rights responsibilities.” These steps followed a report released in March 2020, “Recommendations for an IOC Human Rights Strategy,” prepared independently by the former UN high commissioner for human rights, Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, and Rachel Davis, vice president of Shift, a business and human rights consulting firm. 

“As the head of global sport, the IOC has a responsibility to seek to prevent and address human rights harms linked to its operations, and to remedy harms that it causes or contributes to directly,” said Rachel Causey, acting director of the Sport & Rights Alliance. “Now that human rights are finally to be included in global sport’s foundational documents, it is essential for the IOC to live up to its human rights responsibilities – starting with the athletes, fans, migrant and supply chain workers; unhoused populations and all those we know are already being affected by the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

Related news

Submission to UN Human Rights Report on Combating Discrimination and Violence Against Intersex Persons

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 […]

READ MORE

Related resources

Aerial shot of four crew rowers on teal water with Title: Behind the Statistics with blue highlight and eyebrow header above

Episode 2: “Behind the Statistics”

Understanding the data on abuse in sports Watch the second episode of our three-part series exploring scientific data on violence in sports: “Behind the Statistics.” In this video, we dive into prevalence studies and associated factors that put some groups of athletes at higher risk. Led by Dr Aurelie Pankowiak, postdoctoral researcher at the Institute […]

READ MORE

“I know for whom I’m fighting every day.”

“I know for whom I’m fighting every day.”

Recap: Advocacy Tools & Strategies for Advancing the Rights of Impacted People On October 24th, the Athletes Network for Safer Sports held its third capacity-building online workshop on advocacy skills and strategies for impacted athletes and allies. Moderated by Joanna Maranhão and joined by over 30 participants, the discussion centered on our panelists’ experiences advocating […]

READ MORE

Trans, Gender Diverse and Intersex Inclusion in Sports is a Human Right

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 […]

READ MORE

Join the Network

Sport has the potential to be a catalyst for human development, unity, and freedom, but too often it instead brings harm to its athletes, fans, and communities. We exist to uncover and rectify the many abuses that exist both in and around sport. We aim to transform sports into an authentic force for good.