Human Rights Violations, Armed Conflicts, and Sports-Washing
On 3 November 2025, MIGS collaborated with the NYU School of Professional Studies, Centre for Global Affairs, who hosted an important discussion on “Human Rights Violations, Armed Conflicts, and Sports-Washing” featuring perspective from victims, investigative journalists, key NGO actors and legal practitioners.
This discussion, which can be viewed here, was particularly timely, as repressive regimes increasingly seek to host major sporting events as a means of building a positive image on the international stage while concealing ongoing domestic human rights violations and their support for parties involved in armed conflicts with devastating and alarming consequences for civilians, as illustrated by the armed conflict in Sudan. While sports enthusiasts may not be fully aware of the various mechanisms employed to use sport as a tool for reputation enhancement, nor of the extent of the financial investments made to ensure effective promotion, this trend affects all areas of sport, from football and tennis to Formula 1 and basketball, and is visible in sponsorships, club acquisitions, marketing campaigns on sporting equipment, and investment in sports infrastructure.
The discussion at the Centre for Global Affairs was introduced by Professor Azadeh Moaveni, Director of the Global and Joint Programme Studies at the NYU School of Journalism, and Melissa Verpile, Esq., Chairperson of the New York City Bar Association (NYCBA) African Affairs Committee. Both speakers emphasised the contradiction between the image authoritarian states aim to project and the reality of their human rights records. Professor Moaveni noted that the willingness of states to sponsor or host major sporting events should be subject to scrutiny, adding that when a country “puts itself in the spotlight, it gives journalists the opportunity to investigate”. In presenting the overall goal of the Panel, Prof. Moaveni and Dr. David Donat Cattin (NYU Center for Global Affairs) emphasized that “investigative reporting and legal processes on human rights are mutually reinforcing”.
Commenting on the importance of hosting a discussion on how states use sports to whitewash human rights violations, Declan Walsh, Chief Correspondent for the Africa Bureau (Nairobi) at The New York Times, told the audience that “it has never been as urgent as now”. He shared his experience reporting from the field, covering the conflict in Sudan and analysing the involvement of external actors such as the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which, in the meantime, invests in sport, particularly football/soccer, the most popular sport in the world, revealing “ a plan to change the Emirati image”.
At the end of 2023, his investigation, published in The New York Times, described how the UAE provided military assistance and delivered weapons to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) – which started a civil war in April 2023 – through neighbouring countries under the guise of aid missions, as confirmed by satellite imagery and flight-tracking data from airports in Chad.[1] This finding was corroborated by a UN panel of experts in 2024, which reported “credible” allegations that the UAE was supplying military equipment via the Chad airstrip.[2] Recently, this form of external support has enabled the RSF to transform “into a heavily armed force equipped with drones, guided missiles, and air defence systems”, allowing it to continue the conflict, as highlighted by Financial Times in its most recent publication.[3]
Since April 2023, Declan Walsh has been unable to enter Darfur but has remained in contact with civilians experiencing first-hand the atrocities of the conflict. He shared with the audience the story of Doctor Selik, a health worker who, like many others faced the consequences of famine and the intensified attacks while struggling to survive in the besieged city of El Fasher, Darfur. Dr Selik was killed by a missile fired from a drone, providing a clear illustration of how “new means of war are used on the battlefield through external support” including that supplied by the UAE to the RSF. Thanks to his extraordinary journalistic work, Declan won the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.[4]
Examining the support that external actors such as the UAE can provide to parties involved in conflicts, Dr Matthew Hedges recalled that the UAE seeks to extend its influence on the African continent and aims to be perceived as a partner by African counterparts. In Sudan, the UAE has played a significant role in ensuring the RSF’s longevity in the conflict through financial and logistical support. He explained that the UAE has extensive commercial and geopolitical interests in Sudan and views the RSF as a key partner. According to Dr Matthew Hedges, the UAE’s approach to international affairs reflects the conduct of a repressive state seeking to consolidate its power both internationally, via the creation of a sphere of influence characterized by the support for authoritarian/secular regimes, and domestically, at the expense of human rights.
Ahmed Al-Nuaimi, a human rights defender in exile, echoed Matthew Hedges’s comments on the use of repressive methods by the UAE, both in its external policies and domestically. Ahmed Al-Nuaimi, whose brother was one of the 43 dissidents sentenced to life imprisonment on 10 July 2024 in Abu Dhabi, described the practices used by the UAE, stating that his brother was “taken from his home without an arrest warrant and was made to disappear for about seven months while being held in a security prison”. He explained that his brother has had no contact with his family or his lawyers and believes that his treatment revealed a clear intent by the UAE government to silence dissidents who simply call for democratic reforms. Ahmed Al-Nuaimi also recalled that the use of these repressive methods has been widely documented by organisations, including Human Rights Watch and MENA Rights, denouncing the practices employed by the UAE while it seeks to promote a positive image on the international stage, including through sports.
Dr Maryam Aldossari, Senior Lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, shared her expertise on Saudi Arabia, another regime that uses sport to promote a modern image, and emphasised that the so-called modernising reforms under Prince Mohammed bin Salman are “not reforms but a repatch” aimed at improving the country’s reputation. Dr Aldossari stressed that some advocates initially welcomed these measures, believing their rights would be significantly improved, while, in reality, the crackdown on Saudi women calling for more fundamental reforms continues. She highlighted the case of Manahel al-Otaibi, a Saudi women’s rights activist who was arrested following social media publications calling for greater reforms, which the regime has characterised as “terrorist offences” and charged with publishing videos of herself wearing “indecent clothes”. Manahel al-Otaibi has been detained since 16 November 2022 and was re-sentenced to five years imprisonment in August 2025.
As Dr Aldossari explained, while women have gained certain rights, the male guardianship system and the requirement for a guardian’s consent remain in place in many instances, including for leaving certain institutions, such as domestic-abuse shelters. These facilities, pretending to be national institutions for female victims of domestic abuse, function in practice as detention centres, where women accused by their male guardians of disobedience are held. Dr Aldossari alarmingly stressed that women incarcerated in these facilities cannot leave without male approval, often requiring the consent of their abuser for release. Reacting to the accounts shared by Dr Aldossari, Dr David Donat Cattin stressed that these shelters may produce a double victimization of victims of domestic violence: such practices are clearly not compatible with the human rights’ standards that sporting federations, e.g. FIFA, claim to uphold, including with respect of the case of Saudi Arabia as one of the next hosts for the FIFA World Cup.
According to James Lynch, Founder and Co-Director of FairSquare, sporting institutions, including FIFA, have become aware of the necessity to prevent human rights violations in states bidding to host major events. He noted a positive development when, in 2017, FIFA adopted its Human Rights Policy, stating that human rights commitments are binding on all FIFA bodies and officials. However, he stressed that recent decisions fall short of meeting these commitments. In November 2024, FIFA and Qatar launched the FIFA World Cup 2022 Legacy Fund, but it failed to address remedies, such as compensation for harms caused during the preparation of the World Cup in Qatar, where thousands of migrant workers were exploited, “although NGOs have pressured to address this issue”. In November 2024, FIFA also selected Saudi Arabia as the host for the 2034 World Cup despite ongoing human rights concerns, which James Lynch believes revealed “a bidding process which was in fact designed to ensure Saudi Arabia could host the World Cup” and exposed “deep structural flaws within FIFA”.
Rodney Dixon, KC, an expert practitioner in the field of international justice and human rights, echoed the outrage of other speakers at Saudi Arabia being chosen as the host of the 2034 World Cup, despite its human rights record failing to meet international standards. However, he emphasised that sport should bring positive change by “inspiri(ing) nations to improve” and noted that FIFA’s human rights grievance mechanism is a tool that, for example, should be actively utilised by legal practitioners. Dixon also highlighted the role of fan associations, such as the anti-sportswashing Newcastle United supporters’ group in the UK, as well as players’ associations, which contribute to raising awareness and denouncing the use of sport to enhance a state’s reputation.
Commenting not only on Saudi Arabia, but on the broader issue of repressive regimes committing human rights violations domestically and abroad while engaging in sportswashing, he noted that sport is often used as a “sugar coat” to hide horrific criminal patterns and distract from underlying crimes, such as those committed by the RSF with support from the UAE. He stressed that “it should not only be for journalists to report on these issues; it should be done by policy forces”. He added that “it is a very challenging field, but without development, there is no fear for perpetrators” emphasising the importance of expanding the accountability spectrum.
Dixon explained that legal avenues are available and should be actively used. At the domestic level, sanctions regimes allow targeting individuals allegedly involved in human rights violations. Similarly, the principle of universal jurisdiction enables complaints to be lodged before domestic courts against individuals allegedly responsible for crimes such as torture, genocide, and crimes against humanity. At the international level, the jurisdiction of the ICC in Darfur provides a means to seek accountability.
Minky Worden, Director of Global Initiatives at Human Rights Watch, concluded the panel discussion by explaining that sportswashing is not a new phenomenon but a long-standing strategy employed by states for many years. She noted that Human Rights Watch has extensively documented its use in various contexts, including China during the Beijing Olympics, Russia during the Sochi Games & the FIFA world cup (2018), Qatar during the last World Cup, and now in light of Saudi Arabia being selected as the 2034 World Cup host. Worden emphasised that sportswashing is not only used by repressive regimes in the Middle East or Africa, pointing out that the current US administration also used sport to “gloss the image of the USA on the international stage and project an image of domestic power” through major events such as the upcoming World Cup, described as the largest ever, given the increased number of participating teams, and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. In relation to the World Cup in the United States, Worden stressed that Human Rights Watch continues to urge FIFA to identify and address human rights risks, including potential travel restrictions for certain groups, such as Iranian fans affected by travel bans, as well as concerns regarding the militarisation of urban areas.
Minky Worden mentioned that building alliances among NGOs is often a powerful tool, as collective action helps organisations avoid being individually targeted and highlighted the importance of collaboration with a broad range of actors such as journalists, athletes, and fans. She also encouraged athletes to speak collectively and fans to remain mobilised to hold institutions and states accountable.
In his concluding remarks, Dr David Donat Cattin highlighted the role legal actors can play in exposing sportswashing and holding states accountable. He supported Rodney Dixon’s point that legal tools are available, citing the recent Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman judgment in October 2025, where the accused was found guilty of 27 counts of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Darfur, Sudan, between August 2003 and April 2004.
Dr Donat Cattin also stressed the importance of UN mechanisms in uncovering human rights violations, including the Universal Periodic Review, which he called “a powerful tool through which NGOs can question state policies” adding that “the UN can serve as a platform to exert pressure on states”. While International Law does not apply directly to sports federations, he stressed that counter-measures and, above all, retorsions are available against States in which such federations are operating, as was the case when South Africa, during the apartheid regime, was excluded from the International Rugby League.
Finally, in line with other speakers, he emphasised that athletes, legal practitioners, and fans all have a crucial role in challenging the use of sport by states to conceal human rights abuses and rebrand their international image.
[1] D.WALSH, Talking Peace in Sudan, the U.A.E. Secretly Fuels the Fight, The New York Times, 29 September 2023.
[2] R. LEVINSON, D.LEWIS, Dozens of UAE flights head to airstrip UN says supplies arms to Sudan rebels, Reuters, 12 December 2024.
[3] W. WALLIS, C.CORNISH, Sudan civil war atrocities cast spotlight on UAE, Financial Times, 4 Novembre 2025.
[4] Declan Walsh and the Staff of The New York Times – The Pulitzer Prizes.