25/06/2025 Session
The dignity, rights and well-being of athletes must be placed “at the core” of global sports governance, PACE said, calling for a “paradigm shift” that aligns sport with democratic values, transparency and the public interest. “Only a co-ordinated, inclusive and multistakeholder approach can ensure the realisation of human rights in and through sport,” the Assembly underlined.
Adopting a resolution based on the report by Kim Valentin (Denmark, ALDE), the Assembly reaffirmed its support for existing Council of Europe instruments in this field, including the Macolin, Saint Denis and Anti-Doping Conventions, and welcomed the work of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) and international sports federations, while warning that rights violations still persist at all levels of sport. It highlighted “widespread and systemic abuse of children and vulnerable adults”, and called for trauma-informed, victim-centred reporting mechanisms.
The resolution urges states to enshrine human rights protections in national sports policy frameworks, ensure the presence of child safeguarding officers, and establish independent safe sport units. It also supports the creation of a global safe sport body and an international code, similar to the World Anti-Doping Code, to prevent abuse and ensure accountability.
To address gender inequalities, the Assembly calls for gender equality action plans, stronger media visibility of women’s sport, and intersectional policies to address the needs of marginalised groups. It also insists on binding human rights conditionalities in bidding and hosting major sports events, backed by independent monitoring and enforcement powers.