A/HRC/40/72 Agenda of the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III), the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the Declaration on the Right to Development, reports and guidance by human rights mechanisms, and the Olympic Charter. Some stressed the importance of people’s participation in the games and bids and the equitable distribution of wealth generated by mega sporting events. One participant questioned whether governing bodies should assess the human rights records of countries or host-city candidates, and whether there was a risk of aiming at unattainable perfection in human rights. According to him, if human rights were used as a precondition for the selection of venues, it would result in only a few venues being preferred for hosting sporting events, at the cost of diversity. 40. Mr. Languillon-Aussel emphasized the importance of freedom of expression and access to information in mega sporting events planning, including through human rights impact assessments. He cited intergenerational dialogue and accessibility as positive impacts of the Tokyo Games. Mr. Kothari considered that the financial burden of mega sporting events was a negative legacy. Some cities became indebted due to games and responded with tax hikes and cuts to social programmes. He lamented the negative impacts of security crackdowns, especially when the needs of populations were disregarded. The human rights threshold in bids should be that of the international obligations of the State. He recommended that sports governing bodies cooperate with human rights mechanisms to assess bidding proposals. G. The power of collective action for sharing the benefits of sports: protecting and promoting human rights through the life cycle of mega sporting events 41. Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, discussed ways to harness the potential of sports to tackle human rights abuses, especially in host States. This required visibility and voice for victims and civil society. Challenges needing to be tackled included slave labour to build stadiums, discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex persons, barriers obstructing women and girls from playing or attending events, lack of accessibility to persons with disabilities, and persecution and intimidation of human rights defenders and environmentalists. Those abuses violated the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Olympic Charter and commitments signed by host cities. Repressive governments saw mega sporting events as opportunities to gain soft power. Mega sporting events could be catalysts to push them to improve human rights records. Human Rights Watch had documented abuses and advocated for reforms in sports governing bodies, including for the adoption of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Human Rights Watch belonged to several alliances which promoted the integration of sport and human rights. Collective action was essential to tackling systemic abuses. 42. The Project Director for Sustainability Planning, Tokyo Organising Committee, for the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Nobuyuki Sugimoto, stated that the 2020 Games were aimed at global reform through three concepts: achieving one’s personal best, unity in tomorrow and connecting to tomorrow. Tokyo 2020’s sustainability plan was in line with the 2030 Agenda. The plan included environmental and human rights-related goals. One goal addressed human rights, labour and fair business practices (celebrating diversity) throughout supply chains. The Games were being organized in line with the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and promoted inclusive societies. A sustainable sourcing code and a grievance mechanism had been developed through a transparent and multi-stakeholder consultative process. Organizers hoped to influence and to bring about more sustainable consumption and production patterns beyond Japan. 43. Rémy Friedmann, Senior Adviser, Human Security Division, Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, affirmed that Switzerland was deeply committed to collective action on complex thematic issues and would continue to participate in such efforts. He described the country’s engagement in collective discussions on tackling human rights violations related to sports and on how sports could become a force for good. Those endeavours had resulted in the launch of the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, which 12