Spotlight on Sport and Human Rights

From elite athletes to the right to participate at every level, human rights have a vital role to play in sport that is often overlooked. Through its principles of respect and fair play, sport can teach us valuable lessons about non-discrimination and participation, and help to break down barriers. With less than six months until the Olympics, join us as we ask elite athletes, leading experts, and representatives from the International Olympic Committee (IOC)… where do human rights and sport intersect?

Featuring:

• Ginous 'Gigi' Alford leads the sport and human rights work of the World Players Association and coordinates the Sport & Rights Alliance, a coalition of global NGOs and trade unions working to embed human rights and anti-corruption in the world of sport.
• Eniola Aluko is a former professional footballer who represented Chelsea, Juventus and England making 104 appearances over 11 years and playing for Great Britain in 2012 London Olympics.
• Hélène Ba is a basketball player, graduate student in International Criminal Law and Humanitarian Law, and co-founder of Basket pour Toutes, a collective committed to inclusion and the fight against discrimination in basketball.
• Joanna Maranhão is a Brazilian Olympian, survivor of sexual abuse in sport, advocate and researcher. She leads the Sport & Rights Alliance’s scoping project for a Global Survivors Network — consulting athletes across the globe with lived experience of physical, sexual, and emotional abuse

Organised and chaired by Professor Alexandra Xanthaki as the United Nations Special Rapporteur in the field of Cultural Rights, and Professor of Laws at Brunel University London.

This special public event is part of a varied programme of information-gathering sessions hosted at Brunel University London, in partnership with the United Nations, in preparation for the forthcoming report of the UN Special Rapporteur before the UN General Assembly on 'the right to participate in sport'.

Less than six months before the start of the Olympics, leading academics, athletes, domestic and international policymakers, NGOs and community organisations come together to share valuable insights on the intersection of sports and human rights in this pivotal period.