Practitioners & experts explore solutions to human rights challenges associated with mega-sporting events
"Mega-sporting events must not undermine human rights", 26 Nov 2015
A human rights based approach to mega sporting events would not just generate good on and off the playing field, but it would also help generate certainty for sponsors, said Brent Wilton, Global Director, Workplace Rights and Human Rights for Coca Cola...Wilton was one of several speakers during a panel discussion on identifying solutions to key human rights challenges associated with mega sporting events. The discussion was part of the fourth UN Forum on Business and Human Rights...The mega sporting events discussion featured panelists working on events as well as those who sponsor them including FIFA, the Olympic Committee for Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016. Also included were NGOs and those representing labour and human rights groups...Sports do not exist in isolation, and those who get involved in sporting events want to make sure that everything that is being done is above board, said Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation...At the same organizers and companies involved have the responsibility to respect human rights, through explicit commitments and procedures, he said...The bottom line is that businesses involved in mega-sporting events need to follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, said Puvan Selvanathan of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. This expectation should also be built into contractual frameworks, he said....
At the same organizers and companies involved have the responsibility to respect human rights, through explicit commitments and procedures, he said.
The bottom line is that businesses involved in mega-sporting events need to follow the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, said Puvan Selvanathan of the UN Working Group on Business and Human Rights. This expectation should also be built into contractual frameworks, he said.
- See more at: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/MegaSportingEvents.aspx?utm_source=hootsuite#sthash.1UV7D1Cc.dpuf