A/HRC/62/55 option to escalate it to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, which acts as a global arbitration body. Many stakeholders have raised concerns about the extent to which the Court consistently engages with and applies international human rights standards, including the prohibition of racial discrimination. The Special Rapporteur notes with concern reports about the Court’s limited jurisprudence on cases of racial discrimination.57 44. The Court of Arbitration for Sport is based in Switzerland, and its awards may be challenged before the Swiss Federal Tribunal on limited procedural grounds. Some cases involving alleged human rights violations have been reviewed by the European Court of Human Rights following the exhaustion of domestic remedies. Athletes can be required to navigate complex, lengthy and fragmented legal pathways involving multiple, often foreign, legal jurisdictions. There are significant costs to pursuing remedy, particularly in cases that require escalation through multiple stages. These include lawyers’ fees, travel and visa costs. While some attempts have been made to provide support to lower income athletes, such as legal aid provided by the Court of Arbitration, there is still a significant risk of racialized athletes from the global South facing disproportionate barriers to remedy. Such athletes may also face specific procedural barriers, such as difficulties in being able to obtain the appropriate visas to attend relevant arbitration or court proceedings in global North countries.58 45. It can be complex in certain cases to determine whether a case of racial discrimination should be addressed by the relevant sports governance body or by national authorities. There are forms of racism perpetrated in sport, including hate speech that meets the threshold for incitement to hatred, discrimination or violence, that relevant national law enforcement agencies in the host country also have a responsibility to address. While criminal sanctions have been applied in some cases of racist hate speech perpetrated during sporting events, there remains a risk that the athletes affected face confusion about the most appropriate and effective means for seeking remedy, which contributes to impunity. 46. Sport-related racism perpetrated in digital spaces, including social media, is often shielded by an additional layer of impunity. Online environments are often perceived as spaces with limited accountability, where anonymity lowers inhibition and facilitates the spread of racist content. Such dynamics contribute to the normalization of racist discourse, particularly given the global reach of online platforms. The responsibilities of sports governance bodies, public authorities and platform operators to address online abuse remain unclear. Specific mechanisms to address online racism in sport are largely absent and there are cases where racist content related to sport has been allowed to remain on social media platforms despite user reports. IV. International human rights law framework 47. The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination contains a comprehensive prohibition of all forms of racial discrimination that applies within all sporting domains and to all the manifestations of racism outlined in the preceding section. As reflected in article 1 (1), the Convention incorporates a broad definition of racial discrimination as any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, colour, descent or national or ethnic origin that has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. 48. States that are a Party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination have committed to pursuing the realization of a domestic and international community free of all forms of racism. To facilitate the substantive realization of racial equality, article 2 of the Convention requires States Parties to ensure that they do 57 58 GE.26-07112 Submissions from FAIR – Fide Research Monitoring Reporting; International Attestations; and Sports Rights Watch. Submissions from FAIR – Fide Research Monitoring Reporting; International Attestations; and Sports Rights Watch. 13