The IOC presented human rights
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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) reacted rather sharply to calls from Western countries to abandon the idea of allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Summer Games in Paris. The corresponding statement, supported by the leadership of 34 countries, was published on Monday evening by the UK Ministry of Culture, Media and Sports. Earlier, the European Parliament adopted the same resolution. In response, the IOC said that the resolution of the European Parliament contradicts the unifying peacekeeping mission of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Charter, and the position of governments does not take into account the UN’s opinion on the inadmissibility of discrimination based on nationality.
The International Olympic Committee reacted rather sharply to the statements that have appeared in recent days, the meaning of which is that the IOC should not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the 2024 Games in Paris. So, last Saturday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution condemning the IOC’s desire to find an option to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Games, and called on EU governments and the international community to put pressure on the IOC to prevent this from happening. And on Monday, the UK Ministry of Culture, Media and Sport spread an official joint statement supported by the leadership of 34 countries at once (in addition to the UK, these are all 28 EU countries, as well as the USA, New Zealand, Canada, South Korea and Japan), which expresses disagreement with the actions of the IOC on the Russian issue.
The statement notes that at the moment there is no clarity on what is meant by “neutral status”, and the IOC is invited to work on this issue, since “Russian and Belarusian politics and sports are closely connected.”
The statement also notes that “there are great doubts about how realistic the performance of Russian and Belarusian athletes is in general, subject to the option proposed by the IOC”, since “they are directly funded and supported by their states”, and in addition, “there are concerns and strong ties between Russian athletes and the Russian army”.
At the same time, it is argued that the countries that signed the appeal do not support discrimination based on nationality, but until the IOC develops a neutral status model that suits them, they will oppose the admission of Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympics. It is not specified which variants of neutrality could suit the authors of the statement.
But earlier ideas were expressed according to which, for example, only those Russian athletes who left the country or publicly spoke out against the position of the Russian authorities on the events in Ukraine could compete at the Games.
The announcement by the Western states did not come as a surprise. Its key aspects were worked out on February 10 at an online summit of sports ministers from 35 countries (in addition to the above states, Australia also participated there, but it did not sign the final document due to, as the Australian government said, a technical overlay). According to the publication Der Spiegel, the IOC tried to prevent the publication of the summit declaration in its current form, but did not succeed. Apparently, this explains the rather nervous reaction IOC to what happened.
“First, it should be clarified that there is no IOC decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in the qualifications for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. A study is underway on the primary concept of conditions for participation,” the IOC said in a statement provided by TASS. The statement notes that “the IOC and the Olympic community have an obligation to uphold the Olympic Charter and international human rights norms that prohibit discrimination,” and the European Parliament’s call for the isolation of all Russians and Belarusians clearly contradicts this.
The IOC also noted that the resolution of the European Parliament violates the principle of the autonomy of sports organizations, “which is an integral part of the European sports model and a fundamental principle repeatedly recognized by EU institutions.”
With regard to the declaration of governments, as stated in another statement released by the IOC, the governing body of the Olympic Movement “appreciates constructive questions regarding the determination of the neutrality of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport.” But at the same time, the IOC noted that the statement of the governments “does not take into account the clear concerns in the field of human rights expressed by two special rapporteurs of the UN Human Rights Council.”
Recallthat the vast majority of international sports federations removed Russians from participation in tournaments last spring, following the relevant recommendation issued by the IOC. However, already in January of this year, IOC President Thomas Bach said that, under certain conditions, the Russians could be admitted to the Games, for which he was severely criticized. In response, the head of the IOC noted that history will yet show who does a lot for the world – “those who keep the borders and channels of communication open, or those who seek to isolate and divide.” He also noted that it is not for governments to decide who should participate in the Olympics.
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