Agenda

The 2019 Sporting Chance Forum agenda, complete with speakers' names, is available below.

Be sure to also take a moment to look back on previous Fora from 2018, 2017, and 2016 to review the discussions and conclusions year-on-year that will form the backdrop for this year's Forum.

Day 1

8.00-9.00: Registration and Tea/Coffee

9.00-9.15: Welcome

Mary Harvey (CEO, Centre for Sport and Human Rights)
Tatiana Valovaya (Director General, UN Office in Geneva)

9.15-10.00: Opening Remarks

Michelle Bachelet (UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)
Guy Ryder (Director General, International Labour Organisation) by video address
Jeffrey Schlagenhauf (Deputy Secretary-General, Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development)
Craig Foster (Human Rights Advocate and former international footballer).

10.00-11.00: The Role of Sport in Respecting Human Rights

Leading sports organisations worldwide face a range of social and environmental challenges requiring effective policies and practices in response. This session will feature a conversation exploring how sports bodies are seeking to ensure respect for human rights in their work.

Moderated by: Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein (former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights)

David Grevemberg (Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games Federation)
Karl-Erik Nilsson (First Vice-President, UEFA)
François Croquette (Ambassador at large for Human Rights, Government of France)
Zeina Mina (Director, Comité International des Jeux de la Francophonie)

11.00-12.00: Corporate Partners: Connecting corporate purpose with the responsibility to respect Human Rights

Sponsors, broadcasters, and other corporate partners have a responsibility, within their own operations and throughout their supply chains, to respect human rights. Sporting events are no different from any other business relationship in terms of needing to proactively take account of potential human rights risks. Doing so requires clear communication of what they expect of their sports body partners, from bidding through to legacy and in day-to-day sport, including how sports bodies meaningfully engage with the athletes, workers, communities, fans, volunteers, and journalists affected by sport.

Moderated by: Steve Gibbons (Director, Ergon Associates)

Andrés Peñate (Vice-President of Regulatory and Public Affairs, ABInBev)
Moira Oliver (Head of Policy and Chief Counsel, Human/Digital Rights, BT plc)
Madhu Rajesh (Director, International Tourism Partnership)

12.00-14.00: Lunch

Lunch will not be provided due to logistical considerations in the Palais des Nations. However the lunch break period is extended to allow participants ample time to use the Palais facilities (Serpent Bar, UN Cafeteria) as well as to provide meaningful opportunities for networking. Tea and coffee will be available outside Room XX from 1.30pm.

12pm-1.15pm: Supporting Survivors of Sexual Abuse in Sport

Karen Leach (Former professional swimmer; Psychotherapist and Safe Sport Advocate)
Colin Harris (Former athlete; Academic; Safe Sport Advocate)
Jessica Howard (Former professional gymnast; Advisory Council member, Equality League)
Moderated by: Daniela Ligiero (CEO, Together for Girls)

14.00-15.30: Remedying Human Rights Abuses in Sport

Ensuring access to remedy in the context of sport-related human rights abuses remains a challenging issue for all actors. In many cases, remedy mechanisms are either not available at all, not accessible to those affected, or not effective. This session builds on the 2018 Strategic Dialogue on Remedy in the Sport and Human Rights Context, illustrating with concrete examples gaps and challenges related to existing mechanisms and applying a solutions-based approach in order to advance consensus on this critical issue.

Moderated by: Mary Harvey (CEO, Centre for Sport and Human Rights)

Rachel Davis (Vice President and Co-Founder, Shift)
Andreas Graf (Human Rights Manager, FIFA)
Gregory Nott (Director, Norton Rose Fulbright South Africa)
Minky Worden (Director of Global Initiatives, Human Rights Watch)
Ambet Yuson (General Secretary, Building and Wood Workers’ International)

15.30-17.00: The case for collective action: Impact from the field

Collective action is a critical tool in building capacities and ensuring respect for human rights in the world of sport. This session will showcase recent examples of collective action involving several stakeholders including sports bodies, national human rights institutions, and youth.

Moderated by: John Morrison (Deputy Chair, Centre for Sport and Human Rights; Chief Executive, Institute for Human Rights and Business)

Festus Bizimana (Vice-President, National Olympic Committee of Rwanda)
Silas Sinyigaya (Vice-Chairperson, National Human Rights Commission of Rwanda)
Naickey Ijimbere (Programs Manager, National Olympic Committee of Rwanda)
Conal Heatley (Business and Operations Manager, Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council)
David Russell (Chief Executive, National Human Rights Commission of Northern Ireland)

17.00-18:00: Drinks reception

All participants are invited to a drinks reception kindly sponsored by The Coca-Cola Company, at the Serpent Bar in the Palais des Nations.

Day 2

08.00-09.00: Registration and tea / coffee

09.00-10.30: Child rights in sport: recommendations to and response from sporting organisations and states

The Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children is the most comprehensive United Nations document on the current situation of child rights violations in the context of sports. These include, among others, violations and harms related to trafficking, displacement, abuse, exploitation, sale, contracting, grooming, and labour. In addition, it includes 14 Recommendations to Sport Organisations and another 14 to Governments. The objective of the session is to raise awareness of the Report amongst sport organisations, governments and other key actors, join the gap between best practice on the ground and the recommendations by the Special Rapporteur, and provide practical courses of action and resources to sports bodies looking to do this work.

Presentation by Maud de Boer-Buquicchio (Special Rapporteur on the Sale and Sexual Exploitation of Children) followed by a panel discussion where sports bodies respond to the recommendations made by the SR, moderated by Najat Maalla M’jid (UN Special Representative on Violence Against Children):

Iris Hugo-Bouvier (Football and Social Responsibility, UEFA)
Kathryn Leslie (Senior Child Safeguarding and Protection Manager, FIFA)
David Grevemberg (Chief Executive, Commonwealth Games Federation)
María Belén Lara Martínez (Head of International Relations High Council for Sport of Spain)
Thiago Gurjão Alves Ribeiro (Senior Technical Officer, International Labour Organization)

10.30-12.00: Dafeguarding and protecting adult athletes and children in sports: where to start?

Safeguarding in sport is the process of protecting children and adults from harm by providing a safe environment in which to participate in sports, whether as an athlete or fan. Everyone has a role to play in keeping others safe. The session will provide an opportunity to learn about the safeguarding experiences of sport federations. It will provide those federations that may not yet have, or have only begun to establish, safeguarding policies and procedures with insights and tools that may be relevant to their circumstances.

Moderated by: Anne Tiivas (Chair and Director, Safe Sport International)

Áine Power (Deputy Legal Director at Federation Equestre Internationale)
Siret Luik (Deputy Secretary General of World Archery)
Gigi Alford (Sport and Human Rights, World Players Association; Coordinator, Sport and Rights Alliance)
Aaron Smith (Young Ambassador, Commonwealth Sport Northern Ireland)

12.00-14.00: Lunch

14.00-14.30: Craig Foster in conversation with Hakeem al-Araibi

In 2019 a former member of the Bahrain Men’s National Football Team, Hakeem al-Araibi, was arrested in Thailand for peacefully protesting against injustice in his home country. The global campaign for his release was led by Craig Foster, a former international footballer from Australia and human rights advocate, with assistance by a wide range of football’s most powerful actors, including top sponsors, leading governments, NGOs and advocates. This conversation will highlight Hakeem’s story as well as lessons for all actors in protecting the rights of athletes and others impacted by their involvement in sport.

14.30-16.00: Impact of regional bodies on policy affecting Sport, Human Rights and Sustainable Development

One of the objectives of the 2019 Sporting Chance Forum is the engagement of States. Working through regional inter-governmental mechanisms (such as the African Union, the Council of Europe and the Ibero American Sports Council) is a means to engage States and advocate for human rights on issues related to sport and human rights. Some such mechanisms have a dedicated division or department for sports. Some facilitate the adoption of regional plans and policies that their member states and sport organisations commit to implement. This includes plans and policies that are within the framework of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and the Kazan Action Plan.

Moderated by: Oliver Dudfield (Head of Sport for Development and Peace, Commonwealth Secretariat)

Elda Moreno (Head of the Children's Rights and Sport Values Department, Council of Europe)
Olawale Maiyegun (Special Advisor, CSHR and Former Nigerian Diplomat and Former AU Director of the Department for Social Affairs)
Maria José Rienda (Executive Secretary of Ibero-American Sports Council and President, Spanish National Sport Council, Ministry of Sport and Culture, Government of Spain)
Mark Mungal (Director, Caribbean Sport and Development Agency)

16.00-17.00: The road ahead

Moderated by: Mary Harvey (CEO, Centre for Sport and Human Rights)

Pascale Baeriswyl (State Secretary, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Government of Switzerland)
Moussa Oumarou (Deputy Director-General for Field Operations and Partnerships, International Labour Organization)
Matthias Thorns (Deputy Secretary-General, International Organisation of Employers IOE)
Tim Noonan (Director, International Trade Union Confederation)
Mary Robinson (Chair, Centre for Sport and Human Rights)

17.00: Close

Conclusion of Day 2 of the Sporting Chance Forum.