FIFA Joins Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights
25 April 2017
FIFA – the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (International Federation of Association Football) – football’s global governing body, has joined the Steering Committee of the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights (MSE Platform).
The MSE Platform is an emerging multi-stakeholder coalition of international and intergovernmental organisations, governments, sports governing bodies, athletes, unions, sponsors, broadcasters, and civil society groups. Through dialogue and joint action its mission is to ensure all actors involved in staging an event fully embrace and operationalise their respective human rights duties and responsibilities throughout the MSE lifecycle.
MSE Platform members are working together to develop more comprehensive, consistent, and accountable approaches to managing social risks and adverse human rights impacts arising from MSEs, and overcome the barriers to better knowledge transfer and good practice within and between sport traditions and events. This collective action seeks to raise awareness, innovate, advocate, educate, drive positive change, and give a voice to those most affected.
Chaired by Mary Robinson, the MSE Platform is facilitated by the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB). The MSE Platform is driven by the efforts of a multi-stakeholder Steering Committee of more than 20 organisations, supported by a high-level Advisory Group. Throughout 2017, the MSE Platform’s work is being implemented through four Task Forces.
John Morrison, Chief Executive of IHRB, remarked:
“We are very pleased to have FIFA join this collective endeavour to make human rights central to mega-sporting events and their legacies. FIFA and some other major sports governing bodies have been taking significant steps to commit to respecting human rights in their events, and begin embedding those commitments into their internal systems and processes. The work of the MSE Platform this year is very much focused on implementation in practice, and we look forward to FIFA’s contribution to this important work."
