Organizations say draft doesn’t effectively mitigate risk of harm or ensure redress
According to the BC Civil Liberties Association, an informal coalition of organizations and collectives in the Downtown Eastside (DTES) and Chinatown communities expressed concerns regarding the Vancouver Host Committee’s draft human rights action plan for the upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026.
In a press release, the coalition noted that Vancouver, as one of the host cities, signed a boilerplate agreement committing to affirming human rights and promising to follow through with an action plan guided by the FIFA human rights framework.
The coalition claimed that the committee:
- failed to ensure meaningful engagement and effective consultation with the people, communities, collectives, and organizations that FIFA’s events would most impact
- rejected its offers to meet so that the coalition could share its perspectives and suggest solutions
- relied too much on existing provincial and federal legislation and city policies and bylaws
Mitigating risks
The coalition accepted that the committee’s draft action plan dated Feb. 19 recognized the risk of FIFA-related human rights harms, including the disproportionate risk to the DTES and other areas of the city beyond the immediate FIFA perimeter.
However, the coalition asserted that the draft action plan listed existing rules, policies, and processes allegedly applying to possible harms under each rights category in FIFA’s framework, rather than offering ways to mitigate the risk of harm effectively.
“The Plan as a whole is riddled with weak, empty language like the City ‘will continue’ or ‘will monitor’ – as opposed to ‘will implement’, ‘will scale up’, or ‘will fund,’” the coalition said in the press release.
Regarding the obligation relating to the potentially displaced unsheltered population, the coalition noted that the Feb. 19 action plan provided that provincial and municipal tenant protections, along with the allowances for temporary shelters erected overnight in city parks, would remain in effect.
The coalition explained that the safeguards in BC’s Residential Tenancy Act and Short Term Rental Accommodations Act would not protect those sheltering outside. The coalition added that the draft action plan did not promise the daytime respite spaces needed.
Remedies
The coalition acknowledged that FIFA’s human rights reporting system would apply to the stadium and fan zone at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) grounds.
For breaches beyond these areas, the coalition claimed that the committee failed to provide a sufficient plan for reports and remedies in the event of violations and instead referred to over 300 services, which were not currently equipped to report human rights violations or ensure real remedies.
“These services are notoriously inaccessible for folks who are most likely to experience rights violations, by reason of cyclical displacement, a lack of access to technology and technology literacy, and/or past experiences that have yielded deep distrust,” stated the coalition’s press release.
The coalition pointed out that filing a claim with the BC Human Rights Tribunal, among other possible processes for redress listed in the draft action plan, might take years.
Context of action plan
On Feb. 19, the committee released the 57-page draft action plan. As scheduled, the World Cup will come to Vancouver via the FIFA Congress in April and to BC Place for seven matches from June 11 to July 7.
Under FIFA’s requirements, the action plan aims to identify FIFA-related human rights risks for people experiencing homelessness and some other populations and to introduce targeted measures to tackle those risks.
“With the final draft of the City’s Action Plan to be released sometime in May, we are deeply skeptical about the Committee’s ability to have a comprehensive response, adequate training, and robust public education with respect to the human rights implications of the games before they kick off in June,” the coalition said.
