PRESS STATEMENTS

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 19, 2026

More Than 50 Leaders and Organizations Call on Los Angeles City Council to Release Human Rights Plans for The World Cup and LA28 Olympics

Los Angeles, CA — On Friday, February 20, a broad coalition of advocates, service providers, survivor leaders, and community organizations will attend the LA City Council meeting and demand immediate transparency around the Human Rights Plans required for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games during public comment.

The call to action is backed by nine California legislators and 42 organizations who have formally endorsed the recommendations in the report Preventing and Addressing Human Trafficking Related to Major Sporting Events in Los Angeles. As the organizational letter states, “our coalition recognizes both the tremendous opportunity and the urgent responsibility to ensure these events do not perpetuate human trafficking or labor exploitation.”

A Growing Coalition Calling for Action

The coalition letters — one signed by 9 CA state legislators and another by 42 organizations — urge the City, LA28, and FIFA to adopt the report’s recommendations to prevent human trafficking in the required human rights reports, which include:

• Enforcing posting and training requirements across mandated businesses
• Strengthening procurement standards for contractors tied to sporting events
• Coordinating across agencies to expand survivor access to services while avoiding harmful immigration enforcement
• Establishing a specialized victim fund to meet increased hotline and service demand
• Funding independent evaluations of human rights and anti‑trafficking efforts

As the organizational letter emphasizes, dedicating $2.75–$3.1 million per organizing body — “far less than one percent of projected revenues” — is a minimal and essential investment to protect workers, immigrants, and vulnerable communities.

Urgency Ahead of the World Cup

Stephanie Richard, Director of the Sunita Jain Anti-Trafficking Initiative at Loyola Law School stresses that the timeline is now critical:

• The World Cup begins in less than six months.
• The Human Rights Plan required under the Host City Agreement — which must include anti‑trafficking provisions — has not been released to the public.
• The deadline for submitting the plan to the City was December 31, 2025.

Given the current anti‑immigrant climate and increased federal enforcement, advocates argue that the City must:

• Immediately release the draft Human Rights Plan, and
• Place the plan on the full Council agenda for review.

LA28 Commitments Still Unmet

The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games face similar transparency concerns:

• LA28’s Human Rights Plan was also due December 31, 2025.
• At the January Olympics Ad Hoc Committee meeting, LA28 committed to addressing questions about the plan in February.
• No February meeting has been scheduled, and the draft report submitted to the City has not been released.

The coalition is urging the Council to ensure that LA28’s Human Rights Plan is reviewed publicly this month, as promised.

Links to Coalition Letters

• Legislative Support
• Supporting Organizations

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