Introduction
production and distribution of Q&A materials, production of card news and Youtube ads, support
of an international conference to combat hate and discrimination, a conference with Ambassadors
to Korea, and press interviews with CBS and Kuki News.
The Special Task Force for Human Rights in Sports, which was launched in February 2019 to
achievements made in 2019, however, its mission was extended until February 2022.
The task force analyzed the results of human rights surveys of athlete students at every level
of school, training camp conditions, and professional sports, and made policy recommendations
to promote the rights of student athletes in elementary, middle, and high schools, and athletes
attached to professional sports teams. In 2019, the Commission had conducted large-scale
ex officio investigations into a system that 500 or so sports organizations and human rights
associations had established to cope with violence and sexual violence. Based on the findings, it
recommended ways to make the system more robust and underscored the need for fundamental
change in perception.
Based on an analysis of the 2019 survey of athlete students at every level of school, the
Commission selected ten sporting events and carried out in-depth interviews of athletes, coaches,
parents, staff of sports associations, schools, and offices of education to better understand violation
patterns and causes. Meanwhile, despite the fact that most national competitions were either
canceled or held without spectators due to COVID-19, the Commission monitored the human
rights conditions to prevent incidents. With a view to raising awareness of human rights in sports,
it carried out a campaign titled ‘#Human Rights First, Sports Should Be Fun’ and the ‘Season 2 of
the Declaration of Human Rights in Sports.’ The contactless campaigns helped garner wide public
support and encourage voluntary efforts by the sports community.
Multilateral Efforts to Protect Human Rights amid COVID-19 pandemic
Though Korea’s COVID-19 response was assessed as being more successful than in other
countries, it resulted in some public concern about privacy exposures, social stigma, and the
higher risk of infection among vulnerable groups. The Commission responded to potential
25
Introduction
eliminate violence and sexual violence in sports, was set to expire in February 2020. Given the
Part 1
Operation of Special Investigation Team to promote human rights in sports