スイス・ジュネーブで2019年9月9日から27日まで開催されている第42会期人権理事会にて、18日、ヒューマンライツ・ナウ（HRN）は2020年に開かれる東京オリンピックの建設現場作業員の労働環境やその他の問題について口頭発言を行いました。声明では、労働環境の改善、人権侵害の効果的な報告システム、そして建設現場作業員と彼らの人権を守る新たな改革を要求しました。

声明の全文は以下のリンクからPDFにてご覧いただけます。HRC42-Olympics-oral.pdf (英語版)

発言の様子もこちらにてご覧いただけます。

Thank you, Mr President.

It is less than one year until the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Temperatures in August 2019 in Tokyo were deadly, with an average maximum of 32.8° C and 1,857 people transported to the hospital for heat stroke between July 29 and August 4. If next year’s Olympics see this kind of heat, the risk of heat stroke deaths cannot be ruled out.

On August 2, Human Rights Now visited six Olympic construction sites and observed many workers labouring outside without shade or protective measures from the extreme 35-degree heat. There was no standardized human rights policy to protect workers from these extremely hazardous working conditions.

Since our August 5 briefing, one worker has died, presumably from heat stroke at a construction site. The international labour NGO Building and Wood Workers’ International published a report in May highlighting Olympic construction workers’ complaints including long working hours, dangerous working environments, and discrimination against foreign technical interns. The existing grievance mechanism has also completely failed by rejecting worker complaints made by a union that did not expose their names.

Mr. President, we conclude that serious human rights violations have occurred during preparations for the 2020 Games. We urge international stakeholders, including the IOC, and relevant mandate holders, including the UN Working Group on business and human rights, to take immediate action.

Thank you.