The IOC’s commitment to improving the promotion and respect of human rights within its remit has been long-standing.

The foundations of this commitment can be found in the Olympic Charter, which states that “the practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have access to the practice of sport, without discrimination of any kind in respect of internationally recognised human rights within the remit of the Olympic Movement”.

Sport is a powerful vehicle for fulfilling numerous human rights, such as the right to physical and mental health, and the right to engage in leisure and recreational activities. These rights can only be truly realised when the principles of inclusion, non-discrimination, safety, respect for basic needs and a healthy environment are respected.

The IOC has worked in recent years to develop and strengthen its framework to fulfil its responsibility to respect human rights according to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs).

IOC Strategic Framework On Human Rights

Through the IOC Strategic Framework on Human Rights, approved and published in 2022, the IOC affirms its commitment to respecting human rights in alignment with the UNGPs. This means that the IOC respects all internationally recognised standards, including the International Bill of Human Rights, the International Labour Organization’s Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, and conventions addressing gender equality and children’s rights.

The framework outlines principles for managing the IOC’s human rights impacts across its activities and focuses on five areas:

• Equality and non-discrimination
• Safety and well-being
• Livelihood and decent works
• Voice
• Privacy

It identifies groups directly affected by IOC activities, including athletes, workforce members, supply chain workers and Olympic-related communities. The IOC prioritises addressing the most severe risks, particularly for vulnerable groups.

This commitment was further reinforced by the creation in December 2022 of the IOC Advisory Committee on Human Rights, made up of a majority of external experts in charge of advising the IOC leadership on human rights matters; and by the amendments in September 2023 to the Olympic Charter, which saw the addition of wording to the Fundamental Principles of Olympism as an overarching commitment to respect for human rights.

Material topics

The IOC’s first salient human rights impact assessment, carried out in 2019, highlighted a series of human rights risks across the IOC’s activities: protection against violence and harassment in sport; children’s rights; non-discrimination, diversity and inclusion; athletes’ rights; and sourcing and resource management. The IOC identifies and manages its human rights issues in many ways, including through materiality and impact assessment, stakeholder engagement and internal processes.

Human Rights Due Diligence

The IOC is committed to a process of continuous improvement on human rights, embedding respect for international human rights standards across its activities and building capacity to be a positive influence for the wider Olympic Movement.

The organisation has integrated human rights due diligence into policy-making and programmes for the Olympic Movement, focusing specifically on prevention against violence, supporting IFs and NOCs to expand their safe sport programmes; on better understanding the risks to young athletes in elite sport; and on accompanying IFs in the development of eligibility policies.

The organisation has strengthened its human rights due diligence in the context of the Olympic Games: specifically, by aiming at better understanding human rights risks in the selection of future hosts of the Olympic Games, and better supporting them once they have been awarded the Games in order to prevent, mitigate and remediate any harm that may occur.

For more information, see the Human Rights Progress Report 2021–2024.