IOC Advisory Committee
on Human Rights

The Advisory Committee’s mission is to provide strategic guidance to the IOC and advise on the implementation of the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights

Approved by the IOC EB in September, the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights covers and provides specific action plans for each of the IOC’s three spheres of activity:

  • the IOC as an organisation;
  • the IOC as owner of the Olympic Games; and
  • the IOC as leader of the Olympic Movement.

The IOC Advisory Committee on Human Rights has been created in 2018 as a direct result of Olympic Agenda 2020.  It is composed of nine members with a majority of independent external experts including representatives from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), civil society and TOP sponsors.

All have been selected for their knowledge of sport and human rights. Four of them are IOC members, including two athletes. Six are women and three are men, coming from all continents.

An ambitious mission

The IOC Advisory Committee on Human Rights is a key instrument to help the IOC meet its human rights responsibilities and address the organisation’s salient human rights risks through a comprehensive strategic approach and policy.

It will aim to:

  • Advise the IOC Session, the IOC Executive Board and the IOC President on human rights matter to enable them to make informed, balanced decisions in line with the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights
  • Provide strategic advice and input on priority human rights topics and related activities as identified in the IOC Human Rights Strategic Framework. 
  • Provide a constructive review of the IOC Strategic Framework on human rights, policies and progress reports, and issue recommendations from time to time.
  • Advise on ways to minimise human rights risks in the context of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Movement
  • Suggest major institutions that could support the IOC in achieving its human rights objectives
  • Advises the IOC on the interpretation of the UNGPs within the Olympic remit

Please click here for Terms of Reference.

Composition

Chair

  • Ms Phumzile MLAMBO-NGCUKA is the former Executive Director of UN Women with the rank of Under-Secretary General of the United Nations. She served in that role from 2013 until 2021. In addition to her role at UN Women, Mrs MLAMBO NGCUKA served a tow-year term as member of the World Bank group Advisory Council on Gender and Development from 2015 until 2017. Mrs. MLAMBO NGCUKA served as Deputy President of South Africa from 2005 to 2008, as the first woman to hold the position and at that point the highest ranking woman in the history of South Africa.

 

IOC Members

  • Mr Seung Min RYU, OLY has been the first Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission since 2021. In addition, he serves on the following IOC commissions: Sustainability and Legacy, Olympic Education, Olympic Programme and Coordination of the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad Los Angeles 2028, and on the Board of Directors of Olympic Channel Services S.L. (Spain). Mr RYU is an Olympic champion in table tennis for South Korea (Athens 2004).
  • Ms Sarah WALKER, OLY has been the second Vice-Chair of the IOC Athletes’ Commission since 2022, and currently chairs the Steering Committee for the Athletes’ Rights and Responsibilities Declaration. In addition, Ms Walker serves on the following IOC commissions: Coordination for the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024, Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad, and Technology and Technical Innovation. Ms Walker is an Olympian in BMX for New Zealand (Beijing 2008 and London 2012).
  • Mr Luis Alberto MORENO is currently the Managing Director at Allen & Co., a private investment bank. Prior to holding this position, Mr Moreno served as President of the Inter-American Development Bank from 2005 until 2020. Mr Moreno was Colombia’s Ambassador to the United States from 1998 until 2005. Mr Moreno joined the IOC as a member in 2016, and has been the IOC’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations since 2019. He chairs the Public Affairs and Corporate Communications Commission and is a member of the following ones: Digital and Technology, Olympism 365 and Coordination for the Games of the XXXIV Olympiad Los Angeles 2028.
  • Mrs Dagmawit Girmay BERHANE is an Ethiopian sports administrator who served as the President of the Ethiopian Olympic Committee from 2004 and 2008, and has held and still holds various positions at the national, continental, and international levels of sports federations and within the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC), from 2009 until today. Mrs Berhane joined the IOC as a member in 2013 and currently sits on the following commissions: IOC Members Election, Finance, Audit Committee, Coordination of the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad Paris 2024 and Coordination of the Games of the XXXV Olympiad Brisbane 2032, and on the WADA Foundation Board. Professionally, Mrs Berhane is an advocate of health and sexual reproductive health rights through the promotion of maternal health and family planning.

 

External independent members

  • Ms Sylvia SCHENK, OLY bridges the worlds of sport, human rights and integrity. She was Senior Advisor for Sport at Transparency International, and previously served as the President of the German Cycling Federation and as a member of the Management Committee of the International Cycling Union. She is the Chair of the Working Group on Sport at Transparency International (TI) Germany. A former athlete and a lawyer by training, specialised in Compliance and Human Rights, Ms Schenk has a good relationship with civil society actors active in the world of sport, and is currently a member of the Sport and Rights Alliance (SRA).
  • Ms Lene WENDLAND is the Chief Officer in the Business and Human Rights Unit at the UN OHCHR in Geneva. She is an expert on the UNGPs. Her office produces interpretive advice, guidance and training relating to the dissemination and implementation of the UNGPs for states, business, civil society and other relevant stakeholders. Ms Wendland has advised sport bodies on their human rights strategies in the past.
  • Dr Seree NONTHASOOT is a human rights expert whose work has been widely recognised in both Thailand and ASEAN. He served in the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) as Thailand’s representative from 2013 to 2018, during which time he pioneered AICHR’s work on business and human rights and supported engagement with civil society. On 14 September 2020, the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) elected him to the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) for the 2021-2024 term.
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