Syracuse

“Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, regardless of race, sex, nationality, ethnicity, language, religion, or any other status. Human rights include the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education, and many more. Everyone is entitled to these rights, without discrimination” (United Nations).

Sport can be a powerful tool for social change and for promoting human rights, nurturing positive values such as friendship, excellence, equality, discipline and respect, which are mentioned in the Olympic Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the European Charter for Fundamental Rights. However, there are significant challenges and concerns that impact the practice of human rights for those involved in sport, such as athletes, fans, workers, sports events organisers, resident communities and the media.

The IOC’s first explicit reminder of the importance of respect for human rights was made in 1956 when it amended the Olympic Charter to include the prohibition of discrimination based on race, religion or politics. In 1996, the practice of sport as a human right was included in the Olympic Charter, and the IOC Code of Ethics, published in 1999, includes respect for Human Rights Principles (in relation to Games activities).

With the adoption of Olympic Agenda 2020 in 2014, the IOC’s position has shifted to a more proactive leadership role, and then was both renewed and strengthened with the launch of Olympic Agenda 2020+5, which included the establishment of a Human Rights Unit within the IOC administration in March 2021.

In September 2022, the IOC published the IOC strategic framework on human rights, a set of principles for the management of human rights, focusing on equality and non-discrimination, safety and well-being, livelihood and decent work, voice and privacy. It is defined within the three spheres of responsibility of the IOC, as the leader of the Olympic Movement, the owner of the Olympic Games and as an organisation. It sets out intents and objectives to be implemented in the processes and decisions related to the IOC administration and supply chain, the selection of future Olympic Games hosts and the delivery of the Olympic Games, as well as athletes’ representation, and safe and inclusive sport.

Today, within its remit and in accordance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the IOC respects all internationally recognised human rights, meaning those contained in the International Bill of Human Rights (Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights), and the International Labour Organisation’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, which fulfils the second Fundamental Principle of Olympism in the Olympic Charter: “The Goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity”.

On this page, you will find a wide range of recommended resources and reference pages on this topic. To start with, and in addition to the IOC strategic framework on human rights mentioned above, we recommend reading Olympic reflections and human dignity by Nelson Todt et al. (2021), and The Olympics' evolving relationship with human rights: an ongoing affair by Jean-Loup Chappelet (2022).

Note that the publications on this page represent only a selection of all the resources available on this topic in the Olympic World Library. For the full list, see the link at the bottom of the page, or search in the full catalogue by topic or author.