Andrea Florence works as a human rights officer for the “Sport and Rights Alliance” – an organization that campaigns for the rights of everyone in sport in relation to sport organizations, for example. She believes 2022 could be the year a large audience sees how sport and human rights are linked.
Florence considers three developments to be decisive: Athletes have become more active – such as the footballer Colin Kaepernick, who kneeled down during the national anthem to demonstrate against racism and police violence in the USA. Second, there are more and more cases “in which you try to use sport to create a good image”. One example of this so-called “sportswashing” is the takeover of the Newcastle United soccer team by Saudi Arabia. In addition, more cases of abuse such as the US gymnasts came to light.
Beijing and Qatar – Why 2022 won’t be all about sport
Include human rights in applications
It is important that human rights already play a role in the application process for major events, said Florence. She sees a lot of catching up to do at the IOC: Although there is a human rights strategy, the organization has not made any progress on the subject. A strategy “that is closely coordinated with affected groups” is needed. When the Olympic Games were awarded to China, human rights did not play a role. That was also the case with the World Cup in Qatar. Nevertheless, Florence sees a positive development in Qatar: The country has reached an agreement with the international labor organization ILO and has initiated labor market reforms. Florence generally calls for a risk assessment in the application process or when nominating for all events – even the smaller ones. Then there will be time to bring up when the rights are violated.
“Applauding athletes doesn’t mean being blind to human rights”
The human rights officer sees the athletes’ organizations on the right track: The women’s tennis organization has clearly stood by the side of the missing Chinese player Peng Shuai. Florence does not expect fans to do without: It is no solution not to watch controversial sporting events. You have to be aware that “behind all the advertising and the crises there are still people who compete and give their best, and who want to shine even in difficult situations”.