IOC continues working on human rights and takes first steps on a strategy

The recommendations for a strategic framework on human rights were commissioned by the IOC in March 2019 and developed over the course of a year, in which Prince Zeid and Rachel Davis evaluated the IOC’s current approach, including through consultation with key internal staff and expert civil society stakeholders.

A range of recommendations made in the confidential report by Prince Zeid and Rachel Davis will need to be consulted on internally, and will be further considered in the development of the new strategy.

The IOC Executive Board (EB), welcoming the overarching recommendation, confirmed its commitment to develop a comprehensive and cohesive human rights strategy for the IOC. As immediate next steps towards the implementation of this approach, the IOC EB has agreed to:

• develop and adopt a detailed overarching strategy on human rights, encompassing the IOC’s human rights responsibilities in its own operations (including the activities of the IOC administration as well as the IOC’s role as organiser of the Olympic Games), and setting out its role to advance respect for human rights as the leader of the Olympic Movement, in cooperation with the National Olympic Committees and the International Federations;
• establish a Human Rights Unit with expert leadership to elaborate and drive the detailed strategy in practice, in close collaboration with key departments that will be essential to delivering on the IOC’s commitment;
• continue to strengthen human rights due diligence, the use of leverage and engagement with affected stakeholders in existing areas of work, including the IOC’s efforts on the prevention of harassment and abuse in sport, engagement with Olympic Games and Youth Olympic Games Organising Committees on human rights impacts, and in the IOC’s own procurement; and
• establish the previously announced IOC Human Rights Advisory Committee once the human rights strategy - as the basis for its work - is further elaborated and internal resources and cross-functional structures are in place to make the IOC’s human rights commitment fully operational.

Shift has provided advisory support to the IOC on human rights since early 2018, and will continue to provide operational support and expertise during the transition to the IOC’s new internal human rights capacities.