Guidance On Championing Due Diligence In The Context Of Mega Sporting Events - A Northern European Perspective
Authors -
Alison Biscoe
Centre for Sport and Human Rights
Coming Soon!
Mega (or major) sporting events (MSEs) are the pinnacle of global sport. They are a moment of global unity and joy, but cannot stand apart from their very significant social impacts – both positive and negative. MSEs can enhance freedoms and celebrate human dignity, but can also amplify discrimination and abuse. International multi-sport competitions, World Championships, or smaller events can all have a significant importance for their hosts and have major impact on human rights of people or communities.
All organisations, including those in the world of sport, are responsible for respecting human rights. Through preventing potential negative human rights impacts linked to major events, and providing adequate remedies for abuses that do occur, all organisations involved in delivering a mega-sporting event can better harness sport’s potential for good.
The Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR), in collaboration with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), is currently developing guidance to clarify the different roles and responsibilities around MSEs and ensure human rights due diligence and a human rights impact assessment are conducted as part of responsible event hosting, awarding and participating.
This guidance - to be released in early 2025 - is the outcome of an initiative championed by the National Olympic Committee and Sports Confederation of Denmark (Danmarks Idrætsforbund, DIF) in collaboration with the Swedish Sports Confederation, the Norwegian Sports Confederation and Olympic and Paralympic Committee, the Finnish Olympic Committee, the German Olympic Sports Confederation and the National Olympic Committee and Sports Federation of the Netherlands.
This initiative aimed to support the implementation of human rights goals set by the Olympic Charter and the EOC Strategic Agenda 2030 by developing a roadmap to help sport governing bodies integrate human rights due diligence processes in their decision-making when organising, awarding, or participating in MSEs. This initiative was also an opportunity to increase engagement within Northern Europe NOCS and to build their capacity to understand and address human rights.
What does the guidance feature?
The guidance introduces the key processes used to understand human rights risks - namely human rights due diligence and human rights impact assessments. It goes step-by-step through each stage of a major event lifecycle highlighting the roles and responsibilities of the myriad actors involved, including the potential risks that can occur at each different stage. The document concludes with guidance specifically for national federations on how to conduct impact assessments and use their leverage depending on what role they play in an event; that is to say whether they are organising, awarding or participating in an event.
Who should use this guidance?
The guidance is primarily intended for national sport federations, but the clarity it provides on roles and responsibilities can also be useful for international federations, governments, corporates and civil society.
Although this initiative is grounded in the practical experience and context of sport governing bodies established in the Nordics and Northern Europe, its final output will be aligned with international human rights standards and applicable at a global level.
How to use the guidance?
The guidance supplements existing tools - including CSHR’s MSE Lifecycle Guide and DIHR’s Human Rights Impact Assessment Guidance - updating them with practical context. It should be followed as part of a broader approach to integrating human rights within organisational governance and risk management processes.
How was the guidance created?
CSHR and DIHR conducted interviews with relevant stakeholders (including sport bodies, sponsors, broadcasters, civil society, cities, governments, and event organisers) identified by NOCs. Interviews with actors based in Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands, were used to complement desk-top research and form the substance for the guidance.
