The DFB Human Rights Congress is a first step in the process of active regular stakeholder inclusion in the organisation of high level sporting events on the theme of human rights. Much work remains to be done with regard to an effective implementation of human rights due diligence before, during and after the Qatar 2022 world cup just like the EURO 2024 in Germany.

The post Cares Project at DFB Human Rights Congress appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

The participating experts included Jonas Burgheim, founder and director of the Cares Project who contributed in his voluntary role of president of the German Zentrum für Menschenrechte und Sport e.V. (German Centre for Human Rights and Sport). Other experts included Dr. Anette Niederfranke for the International Labour Organisation (ILO), Wenzel Michalski for Human Rights Watch Germany (HRW), Friedhelm Julius Beucher for the German Paralympic Comittee, Maximilian Klein for Athleten Deutschland e.V., and Mary Harvey for the Centre for Sport and Human Rights in Geneva.

In his written submission and oral statements Jonas Burgheim pointed out the fact that currently German sporting organisations are not obliged by national regulation to respect human rights according to the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGP). Their “Protect, Respect and Remedy” framework provides the internationally established framework for the integration of human rights due diligence in business action. Their German implementation in form of the human rights due diligence act and the national action plan on business and human rights (NAP) do currently not include professional sports organisations. Furthermore, there is no broader awareness for the fact that human rights challenges form a part of all sporting activities, on professional and amateur levels. Jonas Burgheim called on the political representatives present, to support training and education in this field and to require sporting organisations to live up to due diligence standards according to the UNGP.

The entire hearing can be streamed in the video recording embedded above.

The post Human Rights Expert in Parliamentary Hearing appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

Speakers at the forum largely agreed that there is a strong need for mandatory due diligence legislation on the national just like on the European level. There were also repeated calls for a new business model to be developed for the future. The commitment by BMZ leadership comes after years of attempts to enhance human rights due diligence among German companies based on the voluntary German National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP) and its monitoring mechanism. This approach, as findings in annual stock-taking reports have shown in the past two years, has not produced the desired results.

Jonas Burgheim, founder and director of the Cares Project, was a participant to the forum. In his prior professional role as a BMZ senior policy officer, he contributed importantly to laying the basis for the implementation of the NAP during its initial years of application (as of 2016). Jonas Burgheim actually was among the first German government staff to identify and point to the need for a mandatory approach to human rights due diligence in the long-run. He also lobbied for a prominent inclusion of the human rights due diligence theme in the 2020 German EU presidency, of which today’s forum are a result. More than two years on, these efforts are now proving to have provided fertile ground for law-making processes on a German and an EU level.

The post Cares Project Partakes in BMZ Due Diligence Forum appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

The post DFB Hearing on Political Statements by Players appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

As a basis for the negotiations, the ILO Sectoral Policies Department had provided an Issues Paper on “Decent work in the world of sport” which provided an overview of a range of central questions and fundamental principles pertaining to workers’ rights in sports. As a part of this Issues Paper, central reference was also made to relevant legal cases and international instruments pertaining to workers’ rights and, more broadly, human rights in sport. Generally based on this preparatory work, the, according to ILO good practice, strictly formalised discussions were moderated by a presiding member state representative (Irish Ambassador to the United Nations, Mr Michael Gaffey). A central theme of the negotiations, notably between athletes’ and employers’ organisations, came to be that of collective bargaining linked to the athletes’ freedom of association.

The core paragraph 4 of the Global Dialogue Forum’s eventually adopted outcome document “Points of Consensus” reads:

“All workers, including athletes, regardless of the type of employment relationship,require, as a minimum,to be protected by the fundamental principles and rights at work.Social dialogue is based on respect for freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.Social dialogue, including collective bargaining,has diverse forms and levels depending on the contexts and traditions of each country.Consultations, exchanges of information and other forms of dialoguebetween social partners and with governments and other stakeholdersare also important.“

The Global Dialogue Forum can, therefore, well be considered a first step toward a regularised professional working environment in sport with from a content point of view many more to come. Next to this general evolution, it was a noteworthy Forum development that the concept of “autonomy of sport” was deleted from the draft outcome document due to an intervention of the member state representatives’ speaker; her request for this deletion was duly accepted by both workers and employers. The IOC took part in the Forum without an active speaking role.

The Global Dialogue Forum was also attended by Mr Jonas Burgheim for the Cares Project. As founder and director he attend in his Sport Cares capacity due to the intrinsic link to and policy relevance in the human rights risk assessment for Athleten Deutschland e.V. The Global Dialogue Forum allowed for Jonas Burgheim to build on his existing network and continue the regular expert exchange with stakeholders in international sport policy and human rights.

The post ILO Forum on Decent Work in the World of Sport appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

A central content contribution to the Dialogue Forum was provided by Prof Dr Günther Bachmann, General Secretary of the German Council for Sustainable Development. His presentation themed “Sustainability – A Very Special Mega-Trend” was followed by a number of dialogue formats throughout the event. The broad width of delegates attending the event included representatives from state and regional football federations just like actors from civil society next to experts and representatives on sustainability and human rights in sport. They included former German nationals Cacau, now DFB commissioner for integration, and Thomas Hitzelsperger, current chairman of the board at VfB Stuttgart football club and DFB commissioner for diversity.

A panel discussion inlcuding Prof. Dr. Günther Bachmann, Björn Fecker (head of the DFB social responsibility committee and the Green faction in Bremen state parliament), Sylvia Schenk (Transparency International) and Thomas Hitzlsperger provided for a general look at themes of sustainability and human rights while upholding an organised football perspective. Subsequent specialised expert discussions enabled specific considerations, exchange of experiences made, and suggestions for potential next steps to take in football and sports.

Jonas Burgheim, founder and director of the Cares Project, contributed to the event upon invitation by DFB. He provided an expert contribution to the panel “Fair Play, Human and Children Rights”. The panel allowed for an animated exchange of participants from in- and outside DFB on the perspectives and challenges in the field of football and human rights in practice. It also gave room to suggestions for further steps to take in implementing the DFB statutory human rights committment. This will also be of relevance for a successful hosting of the European football championship 2024 in Germany according to statements made by representatives of the event organisers during the dialogue forum.

The post DFB Social Responsibility Dialogue Forum appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

Next to his participation in numerous specialised meetings on the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the Forum provided for an ideal opportunity to exchange with partners and stakeholders in the international business and human rights arena. It particularly provided the opportunity to engage with representatives of other consultancy firms and potential future clients. Mr Burgheim’s content focus for this year’s edition was on human rights in the era of digitalisation, including on the B-Tech Project of the Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights (OHCHR), just like on business and human rights in sport, including the session “Human rights and the role of governments in bidding for and hosting mega sporting events“.

The UN Forum is the world’s largest annual gathering on business and human rights with more than 2,000 participants from government, business, community groups and civil society, law and consultancy firms, investor organisations, UN bodies, national human rights institutions, trade unions, academia and the media. It is held annually at the UN Office at Geneva in the late fall of each year.

The post United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights 2019 appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

For the first time, the Sporting Chance Forum was organised as a back-to-back event to the UN Forum Business and Human Rights. This served to underline the relevance and applicability of the business and human rights concept in organised sport, an approach that has been filled with life by the Sport Cares branch of the Cares Project for long.

Our founder and director, Mr Jonas Burgheim, consequentially again participated in the Sporting Chance Forum for the Cares Project. His participation provided ample opportunity to build on and further expand the broad network and partner-base with international decision-makers and key figures in the field of sport and human rights. While the event related back to a 2019 Cares Project assignment with the Council of Europe Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport, it was also an opportunity to lay the ground for the extended institutional engagement in the field of sport and human rights on the national level in the future.

The post Sporting Chance Forum 2019 appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

In his remarks, Mr Burgheim described the basic origins and general practices in UN human rights policy. He also alluded to the everyday relevance of (business and) human rights themes and pointed to the enormous potential which lies in a progressive publicly-governed business and human rights approach. In drawing reference to core policy fields such as social (in)justice, migration, climate change, and general threats to functioning democratic systems, Jonas Burgheim underscored the impact a sensible human rights and sustainability policy will have on central developments in society, politics, and the economy for years to come. He applauded the organisers and civil society actors for their increasing engagement and involvement in international negotiation processes, such as e. g. through the Treaty Alliance  with regard to the Binding Treaty negotiations.

The event was held at the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin, Germany, where it attracted the attention of an interested public and passers-by. The introductory remarks were followed by a panel discussion and a live on-line interview with an expert present at the Geneva negotiations as well as the screening of the negotiation session itself. Themes and dates of other public presentations were announced by the organisers of Demos e.V.

The post OnHour UN Treaty Event appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.

In an appearance at the Council of Europe (CoE), Cares Project founder and director, Jonas Burgheim, laid the basis for stakeholder content discussions during a “Workshop on the possible revision of the European Sports Charter”. As a final step of the related mandate and upon invitation by the CoE, Jonas Burgheim, presented the core findings and recommendations from an Analysis and Recommendations Report. Sport Cares had drawn up this expert review for the CoE Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) as part of a multi-month assignment. While the presentation constituted the core initial agenda item, it laid the ground for a day of expert discussions on the European Sports Charter (ESC) review process.

The Report was based upon an initial impact assessment of the ESC previously delivered by Sport Cares. With its content analysis of the existing ESC and substantial recommendations for a revised Charter version, it provided tailor-made expert input for the review process. Mr Burgheim’s presentation was met with appreciation and contributed to an informed discourse during this first-of-a-kind stakeholder workshop as part of the ESC review considerations.

The event was held at the Brussels Jacques Delors Building on September 11, 2019, in participation of government, international sports and civil society organisations, representatives of other interest groups, and experts from the sport policy field.

The post Analysis and Recommendations for Council of Europe appeared first on PolitiCares & SportCares.