Multi-stakeholder sport integrity taskforces established
15/12/2017 – The International Partnership against Corruption in Sport (IPACS) agrees to establish three taskforces to help tackle corruption in sport at its meeting at the OECD in Paris on 14-15 December 2017.
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Diverse coalition commits to making human rights central to mega-sporting events
20/06/2016 – The OECD is part of a diverse group of stakeholders that has come together to advance dialogue and co-operation to help prevent, mitigate and remedy abuses of human rights and labour standards associated with major sporting events.
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Accountability of mega-sporting events
09/06/2016 – A special session on human rights and labour issues in mega-sporting events took place at the 2016 Global Forum on Responsible Business Conduct.
Organising sporting events: Preventing corruption and promoting responsible business conduct
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21/05/2016 – Sport teaches millions of people the value of fair play, and the importance of abiding by the rules of the game and of ensuring a “level playing field”. So it is particularly shocking when those in charge of sporting events betray this ethos, and those who believe in it, by engaging in corrupt activities or otherwise failing to respect high standards of conduct.
Sport is also a multi-billion dollar industry with intricate ties to public and private interests. In this context, sports organisations are particularly vulnerable and exposed to corruption risks. The organisation of large events further carries high risks of corruption and serious misconduct because of the complex financial arrangements required, often under tight schedules, and the need to have a varied group of stakeholders cooperating. Private sector involvement in large scale contracts and expectations of strong financial returns further amplify the vulnerabilities surrounding the organisation of these events. Recent bribery scandals have brought to light the need for sports organisations to ensure they are well equipped to address these risks and benefit from appropriate anti-corruption safeguards.
Corruption is not the only risk. Other risks include impacts of human rights abuses; workplace exploitation; population displacement; land issues related to venue construction and infrastructure development; labour issues in the supply chains for goods produced for the event; questionable legacy benefits and financial mismanagement; and waste of taxpayers’ money in general.
Identifying and mitigating risks requires the development, communication, and implementation of robust standards to be followed by all parties. The OECD has decades of experience in developing internationally-agreed standards in many of the risk areas facing event organisers and has long-standing expertise in helping governments, organisations and other concerned parties to implement them, especially in the areas of combating bribery and corruption of foreign public officials; promoting a whole-of-society approach to enhancing integrity and reducing corruption; implementing sound public procurement systems; and respecting social, labour and human rights and the environment.
This brochure looks at the corruption, labour, human rights and environmental risks associated with the organisation of large sporting events. It describes how OECD instruments and expertise in implementation of complex projects can help host governments, event organisers and their business partners ensure that the world of sport remains associated with the traditional values of excellence and fair play.
This brochure was presented by the OECD Secretary-General at the Anti-Corruption Summit: London 2016 on 12 May 2016.
DOCUMENTS AND LINKS
OECD Anti-Bribery Convention
OECD Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics, and Compliance
OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises
OECD Integrity Framework for Public Investment
OECD Recommendation on Fighting Bid Rigging in Public Procurement
High-Level Principles for Integrity, Transparency, Effective Control of Major Events and Related Infrastructure (OECD/ANAC Expo Milano 2015 Project)
Draft principles for leveraging local benefits from global sporting events (OECD, 2016)
Striving for excellence – international sporting events we can be proud of by IHRB’s John Morrison (2016)
Fan’s demand level playing field by Patrick Love (2015)
Local Development Benefits from Staging Global Events: Achieving the Local Development Legacy from 2012 (OECD, 2012)
