MINKY WORDEN is the director of global initiatives at Human Rights Watch. The N.Y.-based organization, which advocates for human rights around the world, declared '15 as "a year of reckoning for global sports and human rights." Prior to joining HRW in '98, Worden lived and worked in Hong Kong as an adviser to Democratic Party Chair Martin Lee. She also worked at the Department of Justice in D.C. as a speechwriter for the U.S. Attorney General and in the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys. Worden, who has written extensively about the intersection of sports and human rights, talked to SBD Global about upcoming human rights issues facing sports governing bodies.
On what makes '15 an important year for human rights in sports…
Minky Worden: At the end of May, you have sort of a once in a generation election of a new FIFA president. The focus of the election has very much been on human rights and how FIFA is failing to address serious human rights catastrophes. On June 12, the first ever European Games will launch in Baku, Azerbaijan, in a climate of extreme repression. You also have big ethical problems posed by the fact that Azerbaijan is paying the way for all of the 50 national teams, which is unprecedented. It certainly sends the wrong message when the first ever European Games are going to be held in an atmosphere of repression, lack of press freedom and transparency. Then at the end of July, you have this important Olympic decision for the 2022 Winter Games between two serious human rights abusers, Kazakhstan and China. The Olympic Charter has very clear language that sport is a human right; that discrimination is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic movement; and that press freedom is an absolute requirement of hosting the Olympics. This is the year that the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter and the reforms that were put in place by [IOC President] Thomas Bach are going to be tested.
On why human rights have become a problem for sports governing bodies…
Worden: In the last two decades we’ve seen that there has been a double standard at play. The Chinese government could promise to improve human rights and then lock people up. The Chinese government could promise to honor labor rights and then workers die building the Bird’s Nest stadium. The Russian government will say, “We honor press freedom,” and then they beat up a Norwegian TV film crew. The problem has been the double standards that we’ve seen at play with the IOC and other major sporting bodies. But there are some reasons for optimism. Human Rights Watch did a book-length report on migrant labor abuses and some cases amounting to forced labor on all of the Sochi Olympic facilities. The IOC took that report, conducted 500 investigations and pressured the Russian authorities to pay back 6,175 migrant workers $8 million in wages that they have been cheated of. That’s quite unprecedented. The IOC has undertaken that when human rights abuses are caused by the Olympics they will address it. This is also an important step that sends the message that you cannot break the rules and get away with it. With China and Kazakhstan, the IOC has to work really hard to monitor the situation.
On what needs to happen for the situation to change…
Worden: It has taken us about a decade to get the reforms that we originally proposed to the Olympic Congress in 2009. It has been multi-step, long and painful process. My own position is that it required a change at the top of the IOC. The Agenda 2020 reforms were championed by Thomas Bach. Certainly Human Rights Watch is eager to see human rights protection put in place around the construction of World Cup stadiums. With Beijing it was $40 billion and everyone said that it is going to be the most expensive sporting event ever. Then Sochi was $53 billion and now the Qatar World Cup is estimated to be $200 billion and 12 new stadiums. When you have a scale that is that massive, you have potential for abuse that is massive as well. That is why FIFA can no longer look the other way. Human Rights Watch is communicating to all of the candidates that they should prioritize human rights abuses in the context of sporting events and work with us to address them both in law and implementation. Qatar has made some law changes in response to our reporting, but then what we found on the ground is that they are not being implemented. It’s a multi-step process that will require the involvement of FIFA.
On sports as a catalyst for change…
Worden: Because there is a lot of money involved that means that there’s also a lot of opportunity. Human Rights Watch engages in these questions because we believe that there is the potential for these organizations to have a positive effect on the laws and practices in these countries. It’s not a hard thing for these sports bodies to monitor and to engage. I think that is something these countries should consider when they step up to bid. They are looking to burnish their reputation on the world stage. Or in the case of the Aliyev government in Azerbaijan, they want to project power to the world. The repressive governments by and large have a lot of things they want to achieve out of the Games. It means that there is in turn leverage for these sports federations and institutions to have Olympics or the World Cup be, as [former IOC President] Jacques Rogge used to say, a force for good.
Hangin' With runs each Friday in SBD Global.
