A/79/299 87. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the adoption, in July 2024, of the Commonwealth Sport Declaration on Reconciliation and Partnership with Indigenous Peoples, the parties to which confirm the application of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the principles enshrined therein, which are based on Indigenous self-determination and respect for Indigenous cultures. 74 C. Safety and security of athletes, stakeholders and fans 88. Given that organized sport is controlled by international and national sporting federations, professional sports leagues, clubs, other businesses and Governments, the terms imposed by those actors fundamentally shape the conditions for participation in sport. Increasingly, those regulations are being challenged on grounds of human rights, including labour rights and freedom of association. Professional athletes are now recognized by the International Labour Organization as workers, 75 and those athletes who engage in collective bargaining and representation must be recognized and protected as human rights defenders. 89. Sufficient safety measures and considerations are indispensable to protecting players, workers and persons in the audience. Responsibilities in this field are shared between all relevant stakeholders, from public authorities, which ensure the safety of all public infrastructure and equipment, and maintain high quality standards in training programmes, to sports associations and federations, which protect all persons through the rules and regulations of their sports, and from promoters and private businesses involved at various levels of the sports ecosystems, to parents, who ensure the well-being and privacy of their children, and to players and athletes themselves. 90. Special consideration needs to be given to young people who participate in competitive sports at an early age, to ensure that the pursuit of sports and the pressure to perform do not interfere with their other human rights, including their rights to education, mental and physical health, and protection from abuse and exploitation. The World Health Organization defines child maltreatment as “all forms of physical and/or emotional ill-treatment, sexual abuse, neglect or negligent treatment or commercial or other exploitation, resulting in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, survival, development or dignity in the context of a relationship of responsibility, trust or power”. 76 The Special Rapporteur has heard from athletes who suffered abuse as children, and from coaches, doctors, family members and others, and recalls the relevance to this topic of the report of the Special Rapporteur on the sale and sexual exploitation of children, including child prostitution, child pornography and other child sexual abuse material, at the fortieth session of the Human Rights Council (see A/HRC/40/51, sect. III, “Study on the sale and sexual exploitation of children in the context of sports”). While the global sporting community is increasingly aware of the urgent need to address abuse, much more needs to be done to allow those concerned to raise the issue and access effective remedies. __________________ 74 75 76 22/24 See https://production-new-commonwealth-files.s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/202407/11csmm-commonwealth-sport-declaration-on-reconciliation-and-partnership-with-indigenouspeople.pdf?VersionId=CvUNchLRsWA7t70A1fwqZBbbcFy28RkN. See www.ilo.org/publications/professional-athletes-and-fundamental-principles-and-rights-work. Kristine Fortier, Sylvie Parent, and Geneviève Lessard, “Child maltreatment in sport: smashing the wall of silence: a narrative review of physical, sexual, psychological abuses and neglect”, British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol. 54, No. 1 (January 2020), pp. 4–7, and World Health Organization, Report of the Consultation on Child Abuse Prevention, Geneva, 29 –31 March 1999 (document WHO/HSC/PVI/99.1). 24-14354