PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
CPJ joins coalition to establish sports, human rights center
Banjul, Gambia (PANA) - The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has joined a coalition working towards establishing an independent Centre for Sport and Human Rights, PANA reported Friday.
In a statement, made available to PANA, CPJ said the coalition which consisted of international sport organizations, civil society and governments, and the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights outlined its commitment to establishing the center in 2018.
The move comes more than a year after CPJ welcomed the International Olympic Committee’s launch of a press freedom complaints mechanism to enable journalists to report press freedom violations.
“Too often, the prestige of hosting a mega-sporting event such as the Olympics, World Cup, or Formula One overshadows the responsibility of host countries to ensure that journalists can report freely on the organization and staging of such events, as CPJ has documented in Russia, China, Qatar, and Bahrain,” the statement pointed out.
“At the Sporting Chance Forum in Geneva this week, I spoke about the threats that journalists face and steps that broadcasters and sports governing bodies can take to support journalists.”
It says the ability of the press to report freely on sports and the issues related to staging a mega-sporting event is essential to ensure that the human, economic, and environmental impact of such events, and crackdowns in repressive host countries do not go unreported
“On the eve of international Human Rights Day, a commitment was made to launch a new independent Centre for Sport and Human Rights in 2018.”
“Announced at the Sporting Chance Forum in Geneva, the planned Centre will be the first of its kind, aimed at helping build a world of sport that protects, respects, and upholds the human rights of athletes, workers, communities, children, fans, volunteers, and the press,” the statement added.
The centre plans are backed by a diverse coalition, including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Federation, and UEFA, as well as a range of intergovernmental organizations, governments, athletes, hosts, sponsors, broadcasters, civil society representatives, trade unions, employers associations, and national human rights institutions.
This broad coalition known currently as the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights (MSE Platform), published a joint statement affirming their commitment to establish a centre that would help to share knowledge, build capacity, and ensure transparency and accountability of the range of actors involved in sport and mega-sporting events.
-0- PANA MLJ/VAO 1Dec2017
In a statement, made available to PANA, CPJ said the coalition which consisted of international sport organizations, civil society and governments, and the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights outlined its commitment to establishing the center in 2018.
The move comes more than a year after CPJ welcomed the International Olympic Committee’s launch of a press freedom complaints mechanism to enable journalists to report press freedom violations.
“Too often, the prestige of hosting a mega-sporting event such as the Olympics, World Cup, or Formula One overshadows the responsibility of host countries to ensure that journalists can report freely on the organization and staging of such events, as CPJ has documented in Russia, China, Qatar, and Bahrain,” the statement pointed out.
“At the Sporting Chance Forum in Geneva this week, I spoke about the threats that journalists face and steps that broadcasters and sports governing bodies can take to support journalists.”
It says the ability of the press to report freely on sports and the issues related to staging a mega-sporting event is essential to ensure that the human, economic, and environmental impact of such events, and crackdowns in repressive host countries do not go unreported
“On the eve of international Human Rights Day, a commitment was made to launch a new independent Centre for Sport and Human Rights in 2018.”
“Announced at the Sporting Chance Forum in Geneva, the planned Centre will be the first of its kind, aimed at helping build a world of sport that protects, respects, and upholds the human rights of athletes, workers, communities, children, fans, volunteers, and the press,” the statement added.
The centre plans are backed by a diverse coalition, including FIFA, the International Olympic Committee, Commonwealth Games Federation, and UEFA, as well as a range of intergovernmental organizations, governments, athletes, hosts, sponsors, broadcasters, civil society representatives, trade unions, employers associations, and national human rights institutions.
This broad coalition known currently as the Mega-Sporting Events Platform for Human Rights (MSE Platform), published a joint statement affirming their commitment to establish a centre that would help to share knowledge, build capacity, and ensure transparency and accountability of the range of actors involved in sport and mega-sporting events.
-0- PANA MLJ/VAO 1Dec2017
