"Mary Robinson & John Ruggie open letter on behalf of Institute for Human Rights and Business to FIFA's President Sepp Blatter", 11June 2014

The FIFA World Cup due to kick off on June 12 will have started on the right footing if recent reports, suggesting that football’s governing body is considering a serious plan to make a country’s human rights record an important factor in awarding future tournaments, are to be believed. All countries face human rights challenges, but more effective and sustained due diligence is clearly needed with respect to decisions about host nations and how major sporting events are planned and implemented. We at the Institute for Human Rights and Business (http://www.ihrb.org) have published a report, Striving For Excellence: Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights, which makes five recommendations to sports governing bodies such as FIFA...