Centre for Sport & Human Rights Unveils Playbook Series to support Sport Bodies in embedding Human Rights Commitments

Author - Alison Biscoe

Centre for Sport and Human Rights

The Centre for Sport and Human Rights proudly launches the Human Rights Playbook series - an initiative designed to empower sport bodies worldwide to make robust human rights commitments. Developed with the support of the Government of Switzerland, this series features two new guidance documents that expand upon the Centre’s flagship 2018 guide, "Championing Human Rights in the Governance of Sport Bodies". While the original guide outlined the "what" and the "why" of human rights due diligence in sports, these new tools delve into the crucial "how" - providing a practical roadmap for action.

These comprehensive guides navigate step-by-step through essential international human rights frameworks, including the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises - frameworks already adopted by sports bodies such as the IOC, FIFA and UEFA. The close collaboration with the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is underscored by forewords from both organisations.

The first guidance document, "Integrating Human Rights in the Governance of Sport Bodies", offers a detailed walkthrough of the human rights due diligence process. It was developed with the support of consultancy firm Ergon Associates. The second, "Commit & Embed - Step by Step Guidance on Drafting a Human Rights Policy", provides a thorough framework for creating robust human rights policies through a series of strategic guiding questions. These resources are designed to be flexible and implementable for sports federations of all sizes.

David Grevemberg, Chief Innovation and Partnerships Officer of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, who co-chaired the working group that drafted the original "Championing Human Rights" guide, emphasised the transformative potential of these new publications: "These guides are a beacon of support for federations of any size at all levels embarking on their human rights journey. By offering a step-by-step approach, they build on the 2018 guidance, ensuring that sport bodies are equipped with practical expertise and guidance at every stage to respect, protect and promote human rights. The collective wisdom encapsulated in these guides is now accessible to all with the potential to drive a new era of human-centric leadership in sports governance that addresses complex real-world challenges and harnesses emerging opportunities."

Simon Geissbühler, Head of the Peace and Human Rights Division at the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs said: “Switzerland is home to many of the world’s sport federations. Therefore, we are particularly aware of the key responsibility sport has to respect and uphold human rights. Sport and human rights are also an important part of Switzerland’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights. We are proud to have supported the development of these important tools and hope that many of the sport federations here in Switzerland and abroad will use them on their human rights journey.”.

For more information or to seek support utilising the Human Rights Playbooks, please contact us at [email protected].