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 at all levels. These barriers are a clear violation of their fundamental rights to inclusion and equal participation.

This submission, provided to the call for inputs for the preparation of the Report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to the Human Rights Council Resolution A/HRC/RES/55/14, to explore the distinct challenges that intersex individuals face within the sporting context. By exploring these issues through a human rights lens, the submission highlights the urgent need to address these escalating challenges. The goal is to shed light on how sports from grassroots and recreational to elite levels can evolve to be more inclusive and affirming for intersex athletes.

The report concludes by offering recommendations to sports governing bodies and government entities outlining urgent measures these institutions should adopt to protect the rights of intersex individuals to participate in sports at all levels.

You can read our full submissions below.

Related news

Iran: Letter to IOC re Iranian athletes facing political execution

Iran: Letter to IOC re Iranian athletes facing political execution

Urgent IOC action required to protect Iranian athletes facing political execution The Sport & Rights Alliance has written to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) regarding boxer and coach Mohammad Javad Vafaei Sani who is at risk of imminent execution amid an ongoing horrifying escalation of executions in Iran. Read the full letter below. *** Dear […]

READ MORE

A supporter wears the Senegalese national flag in Dakar on February 2, 2022 after Senegal's win against Burkina Faso during the Africa Cup of Nations 2021 semi-final football match. © 2022 CARMEN ABD ALI/AFP via Getty Images

Youth Football Dream Turned Into Nightmare

Senegalese Player Cheikh Touré’s Death Reignites Football Trafficking Debate On November 2, a funeral was held for Cheikh Touré, a promising young Senegalese goalkeeper, after his body was finally returned to his family from Ghana. According to media reports, Touré had traveled to Ghana to meet people he believed to be football scouts. They allegedly kidnapped him, extorted money from his mother, and […]

READ MORE

Breaking: Algerian court upholds seven-year prison sentence against French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes in appalling decision

Breaking: Algerian court upholds seven-year prison sentence against French sports journalist Christophe Gleizes in appalling decision

On 3 December, the Tizi Ouzou Court of Appeal upheld the seven-year prison sentence handed down to French journalist Christophe Gleizes, prolonging proceedings that have already lasted 18 months. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the journalist’s support committee express their outrage at this ruling against an experienced, highly recognised media professional who was simply doing […]

READ MORE

Related resources

Image shows purple background with broken volleyball net

Australia: Van de Velde denied visa for World Beach Volleyball Championships

Content warning: This statement mentions sexual assault, rape, and the abuser’s name. (Amsterdam, October 28, 2025) – Kyniska Advocacy, The Army of Survivors, and the Athletes Network for Safer Sports, are once again calling on the sports world to take action to prevent athletes convicted of sexual offenses from competing on the global stage. Last year, […]

READ MORE

Japan Acts to Protect Athletes from Abuse

Japan Acts to Protect Athletes from Abuse

Four Years Since Tokyo Olympics, Lawmakers Commit to Protecting Children Four years after hosting the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, Japan is finally taking action to protect athletes from abuse in sport. This month, the Japanese National Diet passed a revision to the Basic Act on Sport (2011), requiring the national and local governments to adopt measures […]

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.