Official Statement on Sports Day
An Chang-ho, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK), called for the improvement and transformation of human rights awareness in the sports sector on the occasion of the 62nd Sports Day.
On the 15th, Chairperson An stated in a press release, "The NHRCK has opposed human rights violations occurring in the sports sector and emphasized the importance of sports human rights," adding, "We have responded to a series of human rights violation cases such as violence and sexual violence and have worked to prevent them."
Since 2019 until February 2023, the NHRCK operated a Special Investigation Team on Sports Human Rights, carrying out tasks including policy recommendations on human rights in sports, surveys on the status of human rights and protection systems related to violence and sexual violence, investigations and remedies for complaints of human rights violations, monitoring of sports competitions, cooperation with sports organizations, and human rights education and promotion.
Furthermore, the NHRCK revised and supplemented the "Sports Human Rights Charter and Guidelines," which had been recommended in 2010, and in December 2022, urged relevant agencies and sports organizations to fulfill their responsibilities and strive to establish sports for all.
As a result, in August 2020, the phrase "promotion of national prestige" in Article 1 of the National Sports Promotion Act, which had been criticized for pursuing performance supremacy, was deleted, and provisions such as "fair sportsmanship and protection of athletes' human rights" were specified. In the same month, the Basic Sports Act was enacted, codifying the "right to sports" as the right of all citizens, not only professional athletes, to participate in and enjoy sports activities freely and without discrimination. Additionally, the Sports Ethics Center was newly established as a separate independent corporation under the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism to handle, prevent, and remedy corruption, violence, and sexual violence issues in the sports sector.
Chairperson An said, "We hope that related agencies and the sports community will continue to join forces to improve and transform awareness of sports human rights and establish sports for all," adding, "The NHRCK will also continue to strive to ensure that athletes can exercise in a human rights-friendly environment."
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