“Education in Human Rights with Star Athletes”
- Former Star Athletes Stand at the Front Line-
The National Human Rights Commission of Korea (NHRCK; Chair: Ahn Kyong-hwan), hand in hand with the Korea Sports Council, undertook the 2008 Educational Campaign for Human Rights of Student Athletes, Parents, and Coaches on May 8. Ten metropolitan and provincial cities are targeted nationwide. The first session was held in Seoul, and the other nine will be held in the first half of the year.
Sharing the common concerns that human rights violations, especially sexual and physical abuses, are prevalent and serious in sports, the two agencies developed the human rights education program in collaboration with experts in pertinent areas in order to improve the human rights understanding and sensitivity of the major parties involved in school sports: student athletes, parents, and coaches.
The education program is provided 10times in the first half year throughout the nation starting with Seoul, alongside "the research on the human rights of athletes." Some 1,200 middle and high school athletes, 300 coaches, and 100 parents are targeted. Each session lasts two days and one night.
The educational initiative features such sports celebrities as Jang Yun-chang (former volleyball player), Jeong Jae-eun (gold medalist in Taekwondo at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games), Choi Yun-hui (former Asian star swimmer with three gold medals at the 1982 New Deli Asian Olympic Games and two gold medals at the 1986 Seoul Asian Olympic Games), and Hwang Yeong-jo (marathon gold medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games). Two of them will meet the young athletes at each session as lecturers. These former stars are committed to creating a new sports culture free from sexual and physical abuses and to advocating young athletes' human rights, tapping into their rich and practical experience and philosophy as athletes and coaches in their own sports.
As aforementioned, the NHRCK also launched an initiative for the victims of sexual and physical abuse in the sports community on April 7, 2008 to provide special human rights consultation to the victims and receive reports of sexual and physical abuse of athletes. The Commission is committed to fully protecting the privacy of the victims and complainants and to preventing repercussions for requesting consultation or reporting abuses. In the event of a serious case, the Commission leverages its full legal authority to perform a thorough investigation and take responsible action.
