IOC takes next steps in establishment of Human Rights Strategic Framework
The IOC is progressing further in the establishment of a Human Rights Strategic Framework. During the final day of the 139th IOC Session, IOC Members were presented with a progress report as an introduction to the key principles of the IOC Human Rights Strategic Framework, which is scheduled to be finalised by September 2022.
In line with Olympic Agenda 2020+5, the Framework will cover and provide specific action plans for each of the IOC’s three different spheres of responsibility: the IOC as an organisation, as the owner of the Olympic Games and as the leader of the Olympic Movement.
A commitment to continue to lead by example in corporate citizenship
The premise of the IOC Human Rights Strategic Framework is Recommendation 13 of Olympic Agenda 2020+5 which highlights what is expected in terms of the IOC’s environmental and social responsibility.
The IOC is engaged in ongoing efforts to integrate human rights considerations and specifically the recommendations produced in March 2020 by Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, former United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Rachel Davis, Vice-President and Co-Founder of Shift, the centre of expertise on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), into its main operations. Key outcomes of this ongoing engagement are the establishment of a Human Rights Unit in March 2021 and the release of the IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-Discrimination on the Basis of Gender Identity and Sex Variations in November 2021.
Using the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights as a reference
The UNGPs will be the standard of reference of the IOC Human Rights Strategic Framework. They are already widely embraced by many stakeholders inside and outside the Olympic Movement, including sports governing bodies and Olympic Partners. They consist of a set of principles for the management of human rights. The IOC already references them in Olympic Host contracts, the IOC Supplier Code and contractual agreements with commercial partners.
IOC Human Rights Strategic Framework
While it does not detail the full strategy, the document presented at the 139th IOC Session today serves as an introduction by presenting the first stages – namely the governance framework, the standards that the IOC commits to abide by, the IOC’s remit, its spheres of responsibility, the proposed focus areas and the initial workstreams. The document also highlights the delivery mechanism for implementation.