23 March 2023
Peaceful and Neutral Games
In a statement issued on March 17, 2023, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) advocated to uphold the current exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions. In light of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris 2024 this topic is currently of great concern to the international sports world. From a human rights perspective, I agree with the core of the DOSB position: the exclusion serves the aims of protecting the rights of Ukrainian athletes and of preventing sporting events from being instrumentalised for war propaganda. These are legitimate reasons for the unequal treatment of Russian athletes. Continue reading >>
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22 March 2023
Big Brother is Watching the Olympic Games – and Everything Else in Public Spaces
The French National Assembly is currently debating the law on the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Despite its name, the law has more to do with security than with sports. In particular, Article 7 of the law creates a legal basis for algorithmic video surveillance, that is, video surveillance that relies on artificial intelligence to treat the images and audio of video surveillance cameras in order to identify human beings, objects, or specific situations. In other words, video surveillance cameras in France’s public spaces would now able to identify you and detect if your behaviour is suspicious. Continue reading >>
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11 October 2022
IOC adds Human Rights Punch to the Lex Olympica
On 9 September 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published its long-awaited “Strategic Framework on Human Rights”. The new Framework presents an overarching approach as well as concrete action plans for the IOC to address their human rights risks. This blogpost highlights both the potential of the Framework to change the way the IOC operates and the Olympics are organised and the many unknowns remaining regarding its actual transformative impact and concrete implementation in practice. Continue reading >>
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08 February 2022
The Re-Emergence of the Athlete Activist
Expressions in support of social justice, inclusion, anti-discrimination and LGBTQI+ rights no longer appear to breach Rule 50. Where Rule 50 could still come into play is where athlete activists seek to demonstrate their support for overtly political causes. The guidance states unequivocally that expressions must not be targeted at people, organisations, or countries. At Beijing 2022, any expression/gesture aimed at an individual politician, the Communist Party of China, or the Chinese state will remain a breach of Rule 50. Continue reading >>
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07 February 2022
Keeping Politics Out
Throughout history, the IOC always faced tough choices when it dealt with freedom of speech. It attempted to act within the framework of international human rights law whilst it continuously promoted the autonomy of sport from all political interests. At this point, it does not seem that the IOC will move away from its general, apolitical stance. Continue reading >>
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04 February 2022
Speaking up in Beijing or not?
The Beijing Winter Olympics might constitute a boiling point for the ongoing debate on the freedom of expression of athletes and fans participating in international sporting competitions. This blog symposium brings this debate to a more general audience interested in issues related to human rights, constitutionalization of transnational legal processes and private governance. As an introduction to the contributions, our blog highlights a number of fundamental points which will be at the heart of this discussion. Continue reading >>
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