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≡ HUMAN RIGHTS & PROCUREMENT ≡
A long-delayed release of the LA28 organizing committee’s Human Rights Strategy document came Tuesday evening (7th) in a City of Los Angeles document notice, linking to a 35-page report submitted on 19 December 2025.
The document was due by 31 December 2025 under the terms of the 2021 City Agreement with LA28 and was apparently delivered on time, but was not made public until now.
The requirement was for LA28 to identify potential risks related to the Games, and “processes and measures to address and remedy any adverse impacts.”
The 35-page LA28 strategy report reference a series of international norms in the area, including the International Olympic Committee Framework on Human Rights, issued in 2022, and lessons learned from prior organizers, such as Paris 2024.
The report identifies eight primary areas of focus, with the LA28 role identified primarily as one of preparation, training, and availability of communications so that someone who sees something can say something to the right people, quickly.
The report notes extensive existing programs to combat human rights abuses at the Federal, state and local level and adds specific tactics to each area of concentration:
● 1. Human Trafficking
“LA28 intends to publicize redress mechanisms for individuals to raise concerns and seek remediation. LA28 will also maintain a reporting hotline and website for individuals or groups to report, including anonymously, Games-related problems for which other reporting mechanisms do not exist. The LA28 reporting channels will be well-publicized and accessible. …
“Informational materials, such as brochures, posters, and/or digital content, will be available at event venues, non-Games venues, and online. For example, hotels, motels, and inns are required to post notices to combat human trafficking in conspicuous locations. Bystanders will be able to report concerns to authorities and other stakeholders with technology tools like multilingual hotlines to facilitate reporting and assistance for trafficking victims or others who have suffered human rights violations.”
Due diligence guidelines for vendors, sponsors, and contractors and required background checks will be implemented as well.
● 2. Labor Rights
“LA28 expects our contractors and subcontractors to uphold labor rights. … To this end, LA28 is promoting strong partnerships between government, employers, labor unions, community-based organizations, and others. LA28 has initiated discussions with all these stakeholders to collaborate on upholding wage, safety, contract, collective bargaining, and other rights for individuals involved in our delivery of the Games, and we intend to continue those discussions in the run-up to 2028.”
Local unions are in a continuing struggle with Los Angeles-area businesses over minimum wage increases and have been vocal in demanding that LA28 take their side. The organizers have not engaged in such discussions, at least not publicly, so far. So future discussions may or may not be friendly. This is an area that bears close watching.
● 3. Accessibility
“Looking ahead, LA28 will develop and implement a formal Accessibility Working Plan to promote an Olympic and Paralympic Games that are inclusive, barrier-free, and aligned with domestic and international best practices.”
● 4. Unhoused Communities
LA28 is not going to solve the vast Los Angeles homeless problem, but this is an area where using existing venues makes a big difference. The report notes:
“The prospect of relocating unhoused residents due to construction or redevelopment of land into sporting venues is reduced in Los Angeles because no major construction of permanent facilities is needed to host these Games. If the need arises to relocate individuals due to safety requirements, LA28 will inform key stakeholders, like City and County authorities and advocacy groups, that have the expertise, resources, and authority to work with unhoused communities, with as much advance notice as practicable, so that they can take appropriate actions in support of these individuals.”
What the City of Los Angeles is doing about homelessness is an issue that will partly be decided in the upcoming vote for Mayor and multiple City Council offices.
● 5. Civil Rights and Voice
The U.S. constitutional guarantees for “Freedom of speech, association, and peaceful assembly” were noted. In terms of protests, it’s up to the City of Los Angeles:
“During the Games, the City plans to provide free speech zones at each site hosting Games events and at other locations across the City, where communities will be able to freely express their views (excluding hate speech) and/or protest peacefully.
“Before the Games, the City of Los Angeles has indicated it intends to host ‘days of dialogue’ with communities and with the Consular Corps resident in Los Angeles to reinforce its commitment to allowing residents and visitors to express their views peacefully.”
● 6. Public Safety
“LA28 will work collaboratively with local law enforcement and LA28-contracted firms to deliver appropriate security-related training and readiness routines to address the potential escalation of situations quickly and smoothly. LA28 is also developing policies to manage specific situations, such as screening and management of altercations and crime at venues or Games-related events. …
“LA28 internal operational planning includes safeguarding measures like ‘lost children’ protocols at all Games sites and provision of safe spaces for persons with special needs, such as children or elderly persons, at many venues, and we will publicize these measures in numerous ways. We are preparing to provide hydration stations; adequate numbers of restrooms; cleaning of facilities; and access to sufficient food and beverages for spectators, athletes, and the workforce at sites.”
Primary responsibility, of course, rests with local police departments and the overall security planning for the Games is being led by the U.S. Secret Service.
● 7. Safeguarding Athletes
This is primarily up to others: “During the Games, the IOC and IPC oversee implementation of a range of safeguarding mechanisms,” with LA28’s workforce being responsible to watch and report issues which arise.
● 8. LA28 Staff and Volunteers
“LA28 is also preparing its staff to be active participants in the effort to prevent abuses during the Games. We conduct background checks for staff and volunteers for accreditation and critical Games-time roles. For individuals interacting with minors, we will work with the governing bodies on additional protections. For the limited youth volunteer tracks (e.g., ball girls and boys), LA28 will establish safeguards and additional protections in accordance with best practices and applicable laws and regulations.”
Observed: The document is a responsible reply to the Games Agreement requirement, but recognizes that much of the responsibility in this area is with governmental entities. As such, the report will not satisfy those who want to use the Games for their own causes and purposes.
¶
On Wednesday, LA28 released a 19-page procurement plan, which has been continuously demanded by L.A. City Council members, insistent that the organizing committee spend as much of its $7.145 billion budget with local businesses as possible. The concept:
“This LA28 Procurement Plan shares how the Games-related expenditures will be deployed responsibly and in alignment with the LA28 Impact & Sustainability Plan (I&S Plan), including the target to ensure 75% of addressable spend is local within the Greater Los Angeles area and 25% of addressable spend is with small businesses.”
The first question, of course, is “what is addressable spend”? The plan explains:
“LA28’s local and small business targets are based on addressable spend. Addressable spend refers to the portion of LA28’s total expenditure that can be fulfilled in the local market.
“Not all operational needs translate into addressable spend. A sizable portion of LA28’s requirements may be satisfied through partner sponsorships, IOC contributions, sport federation requirements or existing public infrastructure, with some spending being required to go to specific organizations based on regulatory requirements or supply rights agreements.”
That said, the plan reiterates the LA28 position that “RAMP” is the primary marketplace for organizing committee contracts:
“LA28 uses a well-known platform, the City of Los Angeles’ Regional Alliance Marketplace for Procurement (RAMP.org). RAMP is the only platform where all competitive procurements will be published.”
Importantly, LA28 commits in the plan to offer contracts through RAMP that can allow for more vendors to participate:
● “Right-sizing contract requirements to avoid unnecessarily favoring large incumbents;
● “Prioritizing local and small businesses through targeted outreach, capacity-building and evaluation criteria;
● “Strategically unbundling large contracts into smaller, more accessible opportunities;
● “Establishing enforceable subcontracting requirements for prime contractors; and
● “Creating pre-qualified vendor pools and multiple award contracts to streamline engagement.”
At the back of the plan are five pages of small type identifying 41 areas and 182 lines of goods and services for which the organizing committee expects to contract and a breakdown of specific item groups within each, the general outline of spending and the relative size of expenditures in each.
This looks impressive as shown, but the actual impact on local businesses will depend on what is actually needed, where and when.
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