International Sporting Events And Human Rights

Questions have recently been raised about the political consequences a state experiences when hosting an international sporting event. As the Olympics and FIFA World Cup have visited Brazil and Russia, and the latter is slated to visit Qatar, issues regarding human rights, poverty, and human trafficking have seemingly appeared as frequently in media coverage as the results of competition. This text begins to build an understanding of just how a state’s human rights are influenced by both the want and actual experience of hosting. It finds that hosts behave differently when the eyes of the world are on them and that these events do produce positive effects on a state’s level of respect for human rights. Yet, it also identifies those areas in which hosts, organizations like the IOC and FIFA, and the international sports regime can help to strengthen and expand human rights

The Routledge Handbook of Mega-Sporting Events and Human Rights is the first book to explore in depth the topic of mega-sporting events (MSEs) and human rights, offering accounts of adverse human rights impacts linked to MSEs while considering the potential for promoting human rights in and through the framework of these events. Drawing on the contributions of an international group of leading researchers, practitioners and advocates, the book introduces key concepts in human rights and considers how they relate to ethical, social, managerial and governance issues in contemporary MSEs, from inclusion and welfare to corruption and sustainability. It examines the role of key stakeholders in the delivery of MSEs, including organising committees, sport governing bodies, governments, athletes, sponsors and broadcasters, as well as the role of activists and advocates, and presents historical and contemporary case studies of human rights as an active issue in MSEs. The book provides new perspectives on human rights as a lens for understanding modern sport and as a guiding principle for responsible sport that protects the interests of individuals and communities, as well as offering guidance on best practice. It is essential reading for all advanced students, researchers, practitioners, policymakers and stakeholders with an interest in organisation and delivery of MSEs, as well as general sport management, sport policy, sport governance, the ethics of sport, event management, political science, development studies, ethical business or the significance of sport in wider society.

The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories is put into perspective in Human Rights Watch’s signature yearly report, which, in the 2014 volume, highlighted the armed conflict in Syria, international drug reform, drones and electronic mass surveillance, and more, and also featured photo essays of child marriage in South Sudan, the cost of the Sochi Winter Olympics in Russia, and religious fighting in Central African Republic. Reflecting extensive investigative work undertaken in 2014 by Human Rights Watch staff, in close partnership with domestic human rights activists, the annual World Report 2015 is an invaluable resource for journalists, diplomats, and citizens, and is a must-read for anyone interested in the fight to protect human rights in every corner of the globe.

This book discusses how delivering a mega-sporting event (MSE) can impact human rights and highlights the challenges of dealing with cases of MSE-related human rights abuses and establishing legal responsibility.

Sport is a global phenomenon engaging billions of people and generating annual revenues of more than US$ 145 billion. Problems in the governance of sports organisations, fixing of matches and staging of major sporting events have spurred action on many fronts. Yet attempts to stop corruption in sport are still at an early stage. The Global Corruption Report (GCR) on sport is the most comprehensive analysis of sports corruption to date. It consists of more than 60 contributions from leading experts in the fields of corruption and sport, from sports organisations, governments, multilateral institutions, sponsors, athletes, supporters, academia and the wider anti-corruption movement. This GCR provides essential analysis for understanding the corruption risks in sport, focusing on sports governance, the business of sport, planning of major events, and match-fixing. It highlights the significant work that has already been done and presents new approaches to strengthening integrity in sport. In addition to measuring transparency and accountability, the GCR gives priority to participation, from sponsors to athletes to supporters an essential to restoring trust in sport.

"Sport has the power to change the world," South African president Nelson Mandela told the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo in 2000. Today, we are inundated with similar claims—from politicians, diplomats, intellectuals, journalists, athletes, and fans—about the many ways that international sports competitions make the world a better place. Promoters of the Olympic Games and similar global sports events have spent more than a century telling us that these festivals offer a multitude of "goods": that they foster friendship and mutual understanding among peoples and nations, promote peace, combat racism, and spread democracy. In recent years boosters have suggested that sports mega-events can advance environmental protection in a world threatened by climate change, stimulate economic growth and reduce poverty in developing nations, and promote human rights in repressive countries. If the claims are to be believed, sport is the most powerful and effective form of idealistic internationalism on the planet. The Ideals of Global Sport investigates these grandiose claims, peeling away the hype to reveal the reality: that shockingly little evidence underpins these endlessly repeated assertions. The essays, written by scholars from many regions and disciplines and drawn from an exceptionally diverse array of sources, show that these bold claims were sometimes cleverly leveraged by activist groups to pressure sports bodies into supporting moral causes. But the essays methodically debunk sports organizations' inflated proclamations about the record of their contributions to peace, mutual understanding, antiracism, and democracy. Exposing enduring shortcomings in the newer realm of human rights protection, from the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games to Brazil's 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Rio Olympics, The Ideals of Global Sport suggests that sport's idealistic pretensions can have distinctly non-idealistic side effects, distracting from the staggering financial costs of hosting the events, serving corporate interests, and aiding the spread of neoliberal globalization. Contributors: Jules Boykoff, Susan Brownell, Roland Burke, Simon Creak, Dmitry Dubrovsky, Joon Seok Hong, Barbara J. Keys, Renate Nagamine, João Roriz, Robert Skinner.

What is the relationship between sport and human rights? Can sport protect and enhance the human rights of competitors and sport workers? Can it also undermine those rights? These topical issues are among the many that are explored in this groundbreaking volume which analyzes how sports both contribute to, and undermine the human rights of participants, spectators and workers. The papers are written by esteemed academics whose work is at the cutting-edge of this burgeoning area of study. Experts from around the world have contributed to this important work, and examine controversial issues such as: * sexual harassment * racism * freedom of movement * sport as popular protest. This book was previously published as a special issue of Sport in Society.

This book undertakes a critical examination of commercial rights to sports mega-events (focusing on sponsorship), the exclusivity of such rights and the legal implications of the modern mega-event sponsorship model. It examines ambush marketing of events and the law’s treatment of ambushing (specifically in the form of sui generis event legislation) in a review of 10 major jurisdictions selected on the basis of the importance of the events they are to host in the near future or have hosted recently, and the relevant domestic legislation. It critically examines the legitimacy of such commercial rights protection by means of the use of laws in the context of accepted principles of intellectual property law, competition law and human rights law. Specifically, it questions the legitimacy of the creation of statutory ‘association rights’ to mega-events, and considers potential future developments in respect of the law’s treatment of mega-event commercialisation. Valuable for practitioners and academics (in the fields of sportslaw/sponsorship/marketing/intellectual property law); sports administrators (sports governing bodies); corporate sponsors of sports and other events; potential mega-event host governments and law-makers; civil rights organisations.