This document discusses the organizational implications of implementing a Declaration of Human Rights in sport. It notes that while the concept is sound, putting it into practice faces challenges. Grassroots sport organizations may not have the ability or willingness to implement new policies without support. The document examines lessons from implementing children's rights and anti-harassment policies, finding issues with lack of awareness, complex information, and the need for cultural change, training, and guidance. It also discusses ensuring cultural sensitivity, clear leadership, engaging stakeholders, and utilizing existing networks to successfully implement human rights standards globally in a way that considers local realities.

1. Organizational
Implications of a
Declaration of Human
Rights in Sport
Per Svensson
Kwame Agyemang
Louisiana State University
2016 Ali Athletes and Social Change Forum

2. Introduction
 Sport associated with
promotion and deprivation of
human rights (Donnelly, 2008)
 Declaration of Human Rights
in Sport
 Sound in Theory, but what
about in Practice?
 Organizational Perspective
can inform development and
implementation of a more
meaningful policy document

3. Levels of Threats to Athletes
Athlete
Individual
Relational
Organizational
Source: Mountjoy et al., 2015

4. Themes of Human Rights
• Participation, Association, Expression,
OrganizingFreedom
• From Violence and DiscriminationProtection
• Due Process and Inclusive Access to
Facilities + OpportunitiesAccess
• Solidarity and Distributive JusticeEquality
• Opportunities for physical, psychological,
and social wellbeingAbility
Source: Adams & Piekarz, 2015; UN, n.d.

5. What do we know about
implementations of
formalized rights in sport?

6. The Curious Case of the
Swedish Sport System

7. The Structure of Swedish Sport
Source: Riksidrottsförbundet, 2012

8. Swedish Sport Policy
 In 2009, a children’s rights perspective was
included in Swedish Sport Policy based on
the United Nations Convention on the Rights
of the Child
 Eliasson (2015) explored the lived realities of
actors at the grassroots level during 2011 and
2012.

9. Formalized vs. Actual Rights and Realities
 Neither children or coaches in Swedish sport
clubs were aware of SSC’s incorporation of
Children’s Rights in Swedish sport policy
 Findings also indicated lack of knowledge of the
UNCRC
 Interviewees did not find policy document
meaningful since they had not experienced any
deliberate work regarding children’s rights in their
respective sport clubs
Source: Eliasson, 2015

10. Sport Clubs as Policy
Implementers?
 Dangerous to assume sport clubs are “ready,
willing, and able” to act as policy
implementers (p. 2).
 Empirical findings indicate considerable
differences depending on the identity of an
organization
 Heterogeneity creates challenge in terms of
policy-practice alignment
Source: Stenling and Fahlén, 2014

11. Lessons Learned from Child
Protection in Sport Efforts?

12. Child Protection in Sport Efforts
 Lack of awareness and knowledge -> uneducated
assumptions among many grassroots leaders
 Access to information perceived as complex and
too difficult for sport club personnel
 Unwillingness to challenge assumptions point to
need (yet difficulty) for cultural change within sport
community
Source: Brackenridge, 2002

13. Child Protection in Sport Efforts
 Need for vertical and horizontal policy alignment across
sport governing bodies
 Cascade training system could provide a valuable
implementation strategy
 Considerable need for training and guidance for more
efficient management
 Policy should be based on empirical research rather
than in reactive response to demands for action
Source: Brackenridge, 2002; Fransson, 2009; Rhind et al., 2015

14. Additional Sport Policy
Considerations
 Volunteers may interpret and adapt policies through the
lens of local perspectives (Skille, 2008)
 Important to avoid policy assumptions of fixed realities
and instead embrace the flexibility of the real world
(Donaldson, Legget, & Finch, 2011; Kokko, Kannas, &
Villberg, 2009; Nichols & James, 2008)
 Similar examples found in Sport-for-Development with
discrepancies between policy discourses and local
practices (e.g., Hasselgård & Straume, 2015)

15. Voices from the Field
 Grassroots leaders have expressed the need for
volunteer-driven nature of sport to be incorporated in sport
policy (Donalson et al., 2011)
 Considerable ambiguity in operationalization of youth
sport harassment policies (Donnelly, Kerr, Heron, &
DiCarlo, 2016)
 Specific policy recommendations include:
 Flexibility for overcoming contextual challenges
 Simplify and define terminology
 Provide details on mechanisms for supporting implementation
 Consider incremental implementation process

16. What about the ‘universality’
of human rights?
Foreseeable concerns among sport organizations in
different across different contexts

17. Universality of Human Rights
 Does a declaration of human rights imply or reinforce
Western ideals?
 Concerns raised by several post-colonialist theorists
regarding Human Rights Declarations
 Yet, the Universal Declaration must remain the
foundation of any Human Rights discussion (Giulianotti,
2004)
 Others argue for ‘relative’ universality of human rights
allowing for regional and cultural diversity (Donnelly,
2007)

18. Universality of Human Rights
 Achieving universal acceptance of norms is a
process
 Acceptance must come from within a given region
for sustainability
 This does not mean the creation of regional
human rights
 Instead, the use of regional supervision of
compliance with the international standards
Source: Cerna, 1994

19. What is required for
successful implementation of
a Declaration of Human
Rights in Sport?

20. Pillars of Successful Implementation
• Domestically and InternationallyCultural Sensitivity
• Co-ordination across Sport Eco-SystemHolistic
• Provide value for volunteer leaders/orgs.Incentives
• Clear and coherent coordinationLeadership
• Openness to local realitiesDynamic
• Specify what will be providedResources
• Inclusive and active decision-makingEngaging Stakeholders
• Allow for collective impactNetworks
Source: International Safeguarding Children in Sport Working Group, 2011; Mountjoy et al., 2015

21. Youth Perspectives
 Lessons learned from Youth at the UN
Conference on ‘Reaffirming Human Rights for
All’:
 Imperative to make human rights relatable
through personalized stories
 Education is crucial, yet many states do not
want people to learn about their rights
 NGOs serve important roles to overcome this
barrier in local communities
Source: Kuriansky, 2009

22. Athlete-Centered Approach?
 Most sport organizations are driven by member
participants so why not utilize this resource?
 An athlete-centered approach would require
stakeholders to ask themselves, what a given
action be in the best interest of the rights of the
athlete?
 Participants’ rights would guide nature and delivery
of sport programs
Source: Fransson, 2009

23. Moving Forward
Human
Rights
in Sport
Normalize what
human rights
norms are
desirable in sport
Analyze actual
situation and
develop
appropriate
strategies needed
for change
Source: Martelaer, Knop, Theebom, & Heddegem, 2000

24. Continuing the Conversation