Human Rights Empowered through Rights of Athletes

ended

Sport organizations have a responsibility to safeguard athletes' human rights both on and off the field of play, but not all sports organizations have adequate systems in place to do so. Athletes' human rights can be violated in sports, and these violations are complex and multifaceted, with various interconnected factors. Therefore, H.E.R.O project's main objective is to respect, protect and promote athletes’ human rights in sport by supporting sport bodies in developing appropriate and effective strategies and mechanisms to prevent athletes’ human rights violations on one hand and respond to cases of abuse on the other hand The project aspires to enhance the scientific literature on human rights violations in sports and formulate evidence-based recommendations to prevent and address these violations. An online training program will be introduced to boost the knowledge and capability of sports institutions to respond to reports and allegations of sport-related abuse, and onsite workshops will be organized to raise awareness among athletes about the significance of promoting and protecting human rights in sports. The project will also establish a Protocol for Athlete Human Rights Protection that will provide guidelines for sports organizations and stakeholders to follow to protect athletes' human rights. Partner organizations from North Macedonia, France, The Netherlands, and Spain, with extensive experience in safeguarding and advocating for human rights in sports, will collaborate on the project for a duration of 24 months. Amongst us, we have two globally recognized research institutions in the field of human rights.