Glasgow 2014 Post-Games Human Rights Update

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games were about people. Glasgow 2014 – the Organising Committee (OC) – aimed to inspire and engage people in Glasgow, in Scotland and across the Commonwealth through the connecting power of sport: the athletes who were at the centre of the planning, competing for Gold and glory on the field of play; our workforce, including 12,500 volunteers and up to 30,000 contractors; excited spectators; the Games Family; and the young people of the Commonwealth, making up the majority of a wider Commonwealth population of more than two billion citizens.

In December 2013, coinciding with International Human Rights Day and the launch of SNAP, Scotland’s National Action Plan for Human Rights, the OC published its own ‘Approach to Human Rights’. It was understood that this was the first time that a Commonwealth Games Organising Committee had developed such a model; however, the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) subsequently advised that in publishing the Approach Glasgow 2014 actually “became the first [mega sporting event] organiser to publish a human rights position statement.” 

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) values of Humanity, Equality and Destiny provided the framework needed to outline the plans in the Approach and they have retained this framework for the purposes of this paper. These values were reflected and mirrored throughout Beyond the Games, powered by Dell which brought together international influencers from sport, business and the civic realm as agents for innovation and change. For just one day they gathered in Glasgow to celebrate the incredible work that is already being achieved through the spirit of the Games, and set a challenge to its members and supporters to commit to positive change over the four-year period to the next Commonwealth Games, to be held in Australia’s Gold Coast in 2018.  

Beyond The Games, powered by Dell saw equal rights, inclusion and ethics on the agenda just two days before the Opening Ceremony of the XX Commonwealth Games took place.

Download the Glasgow 2014 Approach to Human Rights

Download the Glasgow 2014 Approach to Human Rights: Post Games Update