Side Event 19 - Child Labour in Sport: Protecting the Rights of Child Athletes

Across the globe, adults who were child athletes have begun to raise their voices, recalling the situations and conditions they have encountered as young persons in sports including excessive hours of intensive training (for example, a child at age six was required to train for 20 hours per week), excessive repeated training that caused chronic and/or serious injuries, trafficking and sale in and through sport, loss of education and balanced social development, and being subjected to intimidation, harassment, violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, avoidable injuries, and doping. 

In response, the Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR), in collaboration with the ILO, undertook the process of preparing a White Paper on this situation. The primary aim is directed to raising awareness of how child labour in sports leads to rights being compromised and violated, and providing guidance to concerned State entities, sports organizations, and other stakeholders about how to prevent and respond to intimidation, harassment, violence, abuse, neglect, exploitation, injuries and doping of children in the context of sport. 

During the event, the Project Steering Committee will launch the White Paper’s key findings and recommendations together with a call for responses, particularly from the world of sport and governments.