The Index

As part of its mission, CRISO is preparing the publication of the first Global Index on Children’s Rights in Sport, assessing how each country implements the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child within the sporting sector. Published annually on 20 November, the International Day of the Rights of the Child, a first edition of the Index will be released in 2026. Developed under the supervision of CRISO’s Scientific Committee, the Index will be based on a rigorous questionnaire addressed to public authorities, national sports organizations, and an international network of correspondents drawn from partner universities and civil society experts. Built on verified and cross-checked data, it will provide an independent, reliable, and comparative assessment firmly grounded in international human rights law. The Global Index on Children’s Rights in Sport will offer a factual, nuanced, and comprehensive picture of the situation in each country, free from opinion, political considerations, or other forms of bias.

The 1989 Convention of the right of the Child

Adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) is the most widely ratified human rights treaty in history. It establishes, for the first time, a comprehensive and legally binding framework recognizing children as full holders of rights, entitled to special protection, care, and respect due to their age and vulnerability. The Convention sets out civil, political, economic, social, and cultural rights that States are obliged to respect, protect, and fulfil, including the rights to health, education, protection from violence and exploitation, participation in decisions affecting the child, and the primacy of the child’s best interests. Its near-universal ratification reflects a global consensus that childhood must be protected and that children’s rights are not optional or conditional. The CRC matters because it transforms moral obligations toward children into enforceable legal standards. It provides governments, institutions, and civil society with a common reference framework to assess policies and practices, identify shortcomings, and hold duty-bearers accountable. More than three decades after its adoption, the Convention remains a cornerstone of international law and a critical tool for ensuring that children are treated not as objects of protection or performance, but as rights-holders in their own right.

Challenges to Children’s Rights in Sport

Sport can be a powerful space for development, health, and inclusion. However, when poorly regulated or excessively performance-driven, it can also expose children to serious violations of their fundamental rights as enshrined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Here are examples of articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child whose application may raise significant challenges within the world of sport.
Article 12 – Right to be heard +
  • The Convention 1. States Parties shall assure to the child who is capable of forming his or her own views the right to express those views freely in all matters affecting the child, the views of the child being given due weight in accordance with the age and maturity of the child.
    2. For this purpose, the child shall in particular be provided the opportunity to be heard in any judicial and administrative proceedings affecting the child, either directly, or through a representative or an appropriate body, in a manner consistent with the procedural rules of national law.
  • The Challenge Children involved in sport are often excluded from decisions that directly affect their bodies, health, schedules, or future. Respecting this right requires listening to children and taking their views seriously.
Article 19 – Protection from all forms of violence +
  • The Convention 1. States Parties shall take all appropriate legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from all forms of physical or mental violence, injury or abuse, neglect or negligent treatment, maltreatment or exploitation, including sexual abuse, while in the care of parent(s), legal guardian(s) or any other person who has the care of the child.
    2. Such protective measures should, as appropriate, include effective procedures for the establishment of social programmes to provide necessary support for the child and for those who have the care of the child, as well as for other forms of prevention and for identification, reporting, referral, investigation, treatment and follow-up of instances of child maltreatment described heretofore, and, as appropriate, for judicial involvement.
  • The Challenge Sport can expose children to physical, psychological, or sexual violence, including abusive coaching practices or hazing. Where safeguarding systems are weak, sport may become a place of silence rather than protection.
Article 24 – Right to health +
  • The Convention 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health and to facilities for the treatment of illness and rehabilitation of health. States Parties shall strive to ensure that no child is deprived of his or her right of access to such health care services.
    2. States Parties shall pursue full implementation of this right and, in particular, shall take appropriate measures:
    (a) To diminish infant and child mortality;
    (b) To ensure the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children with emphasis on the development of primary health care;
    (c) To combat disease and malnutrition, including within the framework of primary health care, through, inter alia, the application of readily available technology and through the provision of adequate nutritious foods and clean drinking-water, taking into consideration the dangers and risks of environmental pollution;
    (d) To ensure appropriate pre-natal and post-natal health care for mothers;
    (e) To ensure that all segments of society, in particular parents and children, are informed, have access to education and are supported in the use of basic knowledge of child health and nutrition, the advantages of breastfeeding, hygiene and environmental sanitation and the prevention of accidents;
    (f) To develop preventive health care, guidance for parents and family planning education and services.
    3. States Parties shall take all effective and appropriate measures with a view to abolishing traditional practices prejudicial to the health of children.
    4. States Parties undertake to promote and encourage international co-operation with a view to achieving progressively the full realization of the right recognized in the present article. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.
  • The Challenge Excessive training, early specialization, pressure to compete while injured, or exposure to doping practices can seriously harm children’s physical and mental health. Conflicts of interest between performance objectives and medical care further increase these risks. Sport must never compromise a child’s health.
Article 28 – Right to education +
  • The Convention 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to education, and with a view to achieving this right progressively and on the basis of equal opportunity, they shall, in particular:
    (a) Make primary education compulsory and available free to all;
    (b) Encourage the development of different forms of secondary education, including general and vocational education, make them available and accessible to every child, and take appropriate measures such as the introduction of free education and offering financial assistance in case of need;
    (c) Make higher education accessible to all on the basis of capacity by every appropriate means;
    (d) Make educational and vocational information and guidance available and accessible to all children;
    (e) Take measures to encourage regular attendance at schools and the reduction of drop-out rates.
    2. States Parties shall take all appropriate measures to ensure that school discipline is administered in a manner consistent with the child's human dignity and in conformity with the present Convention.
    3. States Parties shall promote and encourage international cooperation in matters relating to education, in particular with a view to contributing to the elimination of ignorance and illiteracy throughout the world and facilitating access to scientific and technical knowledge and modern teaching methods. In this regard, particular account shall be taken of the needs of developing countries.
  • The Challenge High-level sporting commitments may interfere with schooling through intensive training schedules, frequent travel, or early professionalization. When education is neglected or subordinated to sporting performance, children’s long-term prospects and autonomy are endangered.
Article 31 – Right to rest, leisure, and play +
  • The Convention 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
    2. States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.
  • The Challenge When sport becomes exclusively performance-oriented, children may be deprived of rest, free time, and unstructured play. A right intended to foster joy and development can turn into an obligation marked by pressure and fatigue. Children must retain the freedom to enjoy sport as play.
Article 32 – Protection from economic exploitation +
  • The Convention 1. States Parties recognize the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child's education, or to be harmful to the child's health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development.
    2. States Parties shall take legislative, administrative, social and educational measures to ensure the implementation of the present article. To this end, and having regard to the relevant provisions of other international instruments, States Parties shall in particular:
    (a) Provide for a minimum age or minimum ages for admission to employment;
    (b) Provide for appropriate regulation of the hours and conditions of employment;
    (c) Provide for appropriate penalties or other sanctions to ensure the effective enforcement of the present article.
  • The Challenge Children engaged in elite or commercial sport may face unfair contracts, unpaid labor, misuse of image rights, or pressure to generate income for others. Without adequate regulation and oversight, sport can cross the line from development to economic exploitation.
Article 36 – Protection from all other forms of exploitation +
  • The Convention States Parties shall protect the child against all other forms of exploitation prejudicial to any aspects of the child's welfare.
  • The Challenge Beyond clearly defined abuses, children in sport may be exposed to harmful practices linked to power imbalances, control over their bodies, or manipulation of their ambitions. This provision acts as a safeguard clause, requiring States to address emerging and systemic forms of exploitation in sport.
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