Championing Equality: Protecting Athletes as Human Rights Defenders

Athletes who advocate for equality or speak against abuses in their sport take significant personal risks and deserve protection, according to U.N. human rights chief Volker Turk. Turk emphasized the need for safeguards and support for these athletes at the U.N. Human Rights Council panel with IOC President Thomas Bach.

Athletes who speak out for equality or denounce abuses in their sport often do so at great personal risk and must be given the same protection as all other defenders of human rights, the U.N. human rights chief said on Monday. "When athletes use their voice to promote equality in sport, they are human rights defenders," said Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights.

"They often speak out at great risk to themselves and to their careers, in a context that has not always been open to criticism from the inside. Because - as in other areas - power dynamics are still very much at play in the sporting world, and more is needed to dismantle them." Turk, who did not name any athletes, said those who use their voice to address issues in their sport or in society should be protected and given "avenues to speak out and seek redress, safely and without fear of reprisals".

Turk was speaking at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva on a panel alongside Thomas Bach, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on human rights and the Olympics ahead of the Paris Summer Games. Paris will host the Olympics from July 26 to Aug. 11, and the Paralympic Games from Aug. 28 to Sept. 8.

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