Human rights accountability during mega sporting events involves enforceable, worker-centered contracting and oversight systems to prevent exploitation and rights abuses
Key insights:
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Effective human rights due diligence — Human rights can be hardwired into procurement by setting standards that include clear documentation thresholds, a code of conduct that bans forced labor and trafficking, a supplier assessment questionnaire, a locally informed worker safeguards addendum, and a risk-based vendor-grading rubric.
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Procurement should feature human rights enforceable obligations — Further, human rights can be hardwired into commitments, such as request for proposals, vendor evaluation, and contract clauses.
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Engaging unions and community groups early can lead to strong execution — Effective implementation relies on early stakeholder structures (unions, community groups, etc.), robust worker grievance mechanisms, and independent interviewers, complemented by AI-driven monitoring and continuous, rapid risk response.
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Mega sporting events can have a significant impact on local economies, but they also pose substantial human rights risks, including labor exploitation, forced displacement, and sex trafficking. With the Super Bowl and Winter Olympics coming up next month, and the World Cup in summer, it’s crucial that organizations, communities, and governments prepare now to mitigate any human rights problems with these events.
As an advisor to host cities on human rights with more than a decade of experience now as the chief executive of Henekom Group, I have seen firsthand how the right commitments and responsible contracting practices can help mitigate these risks. By prioritizing human rights and adopting robust contracting practices, the cities that host these mega sporting events can ensure a positive legacy that extends beyond the event itself.
This was a recent topic at an event hosted by Thomson Reuters and the International Labor Organization as part of its Decent Work agenda in which representatives from host cities, civil society organizations, and governments came together to discuss best practices to turn commitments around human rights into action during the FIFA World Cup games later this year. As a participant in this event, Henekom shared our approach in translating high‑level human rights commitments into context‑specific safeguards in order to create the social architecture that aligns organizational practice with community needs.
January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month in the United States. Check out our Human Rights Crimes resource center to learn how to stop and prevent human trafficking
Centering human rights by using rigorous contracting standards starts with local jurisdictions working with multidisciplinary stakeholders to embed strong and comprehensive policies and protocols at all stages of event planning. In my experience, an all-inclusive approach typically shares five elements:
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- Clear thresholds in human rights documentation that are designed for speed of business.
- Code of conduct with essential ingredients, which include explicit bans on forced labor, trafficking, and other exploitation.
- Supplier assessment questionnaire (SAQ) that flags geographic and sector risk, such as temporary labor of food service employees.
- Worker safeguards addendum (WSA) that is built from local labor stakeholders who have lived concerns that help to translate the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) into local realities.
- Risk-based grading rubric for vendors that weights SAQ and WSA responses and turns them into a contracting risk rating.
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In my experience, implementing these policies and tools deeply within the organization means embedding requirements at three critical junctures: i) request for proposals (RFPs); ii) vendor evaluation as part of the selection process; and iii) contract clauses. First, when subject-matter experts draft RFPs, the workflow should force-check human rights and sustainability language (or auto-insert standard clauses). Second, during vendor evaluation, the human rights team grades each SAQ/WSA and assigns a risk-based score. Third, contracts must lock in enforceability with particular emphasis on audit rights, corrective action plans, termination for cause, access to remedy, and accountability mechanisms, such as payment withholding.
Vendor contract agreements between the host cities and primary contractors are the best vehicle to incorporate enforcement of these rights. Likewise, provisions for these rights should also be incorporated into contracts between primary contractors and any subcontractors.
Centering human rights by using rigorous contracting standards starts with local jurisdictions working with multidisciplinary stakeholders to embed strong and comprehensive policies and protocols at all stages of event planning.
Temporary labor at mega sporting events — which include individuals working in private security, souvenir sales, construction, janitorial, and food service — adds complexity but does not have to stifle efforts to honor decent work and other human rights. With a solid sourcing policy, vendors get practical tools and technical assistance to implement requirements quickly.
Common examples include building a checks-and-balances loop with worker centers to receive complaints, and data reporting to track hours, wages, recruitment fees, and grievance outcomes. The risk-based grading rubric for vendors ideally determines the monitoring intensity, frequency of site visits, and reporting cadence.
Effective approaches for implementation
Beyond contract language, the following three actions and tools to help instill accountability in human rights commitments are recommended:
Working with stakeholders from day one — To effectively safeguard human rights, it’s crucial to establish standing stakeholder structures, such as advisory councils and labor roundtables, in order to co-create standards and monitor progress with unions and community groups. By doing so, organizations can ensure workers’ voices are heard, issues are escalated, and commitments are translated into tangible results through collective action and remediation advice.
Centering workers and ensuring access to grievance mechanisms — Establishing on-site, back-of-house centers for workers with confidential and multilingual intake processes, along with clear resolution pathways, is an effective way to drive accountability and reinforce human rights commitments. Using trained, independent worker interviewers with unannounced access to ensure compliance across venues, shifts, and subcontractor tiers further adds to this accountability.
Together, these approaches provide a means for workers to report concerns, verify compliance with policy requirements, and ensure that human rights are respected throughout the supply chain.
Using AI to fortify accountability — AI offers powerful tools for detecting and preventing labor exploitation in supply chains through automated monitoring and pattern recognition. Likewise, natural language processing may be able to analyze hotline transcripts and grievance logs to identify trends.
Even with the best policies and accountability tools, however, risks still persist because operating and business conditions are dynamic. New suppliers are added late, or a hot day turns into potentially harmful working conditions. This makes human rights due diligence a continuous requirement with ongoing risk monitoring, fast incident response, and a humble posture to make it right quickly, transparently, and fairly.
If host cities want a legacy that lasts beyond the mega sporting events’ closing ceremony, it is critical to ensure that the people who made the spectacle possible were seen, protected, paid, and heard. Doing the right thing is strategy — contracts and worker-centered approaches are how it shows up on the ground.
You can find out more about how organizations are trying to fight against human rights crimes here
