The IOC as the leader of
the Olympic Movement
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The IOC works closely with the Olympic Movement, especially the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and International Federations (IFs) on human rights matters.
Athletes’ Rights
Putting athletes at the heart of the Olympic Movement is one of the three shared missions of the Olympic Movement.
The IOC endorsed the Athletes’ Rights and Responsibilities Declaration to demonstrate its commitment to athletes. The purpose of the Declaration is to ensure that sports organisations and athletes discuss and address the matters that affect them most. The IOC developed guidance for NOCs and IFs to tackle the most pressing issues for athletes.
Safe sport
Preventing and responding to harassment and abuse faced by athletes is one of the most pressing issues that the IOC has been striving to address in recent years. Through its work on safe sport, the IOC is actively taking steps to protect athletes from all forms of harassment and abuse in sport.
Athlete inclusion and non-discrimination
The IOC fosters the inclusion of all athletes in sport, including transgender athletes and athletes with intersex variations. In 2021, it released a Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-discrimination. The Framework was the result of a two-year consultation, which included human rights, legal and medical perspectives, plus the voices of athletes (cisgender, transgender or regardless of their sex characteristics) who could be directly impacted by the eligibility criteria.
Through this Framework, the IOC seeks to promote a safe and welcoming environment for everyone involved in sport, consistent with the principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter. At the same time, the Framework acknowledges the central role that eligibility criteria play in ensuring fairness in the women’s category in high-level organised sport. Whilst the Framework focuses on elite sport, a large part is also applicable to recreational and grassroots sport.
Child Rights
The IOC deploys a number of measures to ensure that elite youth athletes (U18) are looked after and are safe during IOC events. In addition, the IOC has committed in its IOC Human Rights Strategic Framework to better understanding the gaps and opportunities in ensuring respect for and promotion of the child rights of elite youth athletes across the Olympic Movement whilst ensuring fair play.
It recognises that sports provide incredible opportunities for youth athletes, but also that their age and period of development can make them particularly vulnerable and at-risk for potential harm.
