Welcome to the Declaration on Sport and Human Rights website
This site will hopefully provide you with an insight to the origins of the Declaration, its value within the sporting context, information on those who have signed up to support the Declaration and links to other organisations committed to upholding Human Rights within sport.
The Declaration evolved out of a joint venture between the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC) and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) following the awarding of hosting rights to Belfast for the 2021 Commonwealth Youth Games. While the failure of Government in Northern Ireland subsequently resulted in the hosting rights for the Youth Games being lost, there was determination that the planned Human Rights legacy project would be continued.
Launch of Declaration in Belfast
May 2019
The NICGC had attended the IHRB supported Sporting Chance Forums in 2016 and 2017 while the NIHRC continued to Chair the Commonwealth Forum for National Human Rights Institutions (CFNHRI).
The annual Sporting Chance Forum has since developed into the Geneva based Centre for Sport and Human Rights, bringing together a wide range of global actors to fully align the world of sport with the fundamental principles of human dignity, human rights, and labour rights.
This Declaration is designed as a practical grassroots tool to support the work of the Centre. It allows sporting bodies, clubs and Individuals to pledge their support for the upholding of Human Rights within, and through, sport.