Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, and Ashwini KP, Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, have asked the world Olympic body to also guarantee the non-discrimination of any athlete on the basis of their nationality, and stressed that no athlete should be required to take sides in a conflict.
With the permission of the IOC, the athletes might have the chance to participate in the Paris Olympics in 2024. Following discussions with UN experts, the Executive Board of the International Olympic Committee issued a statement on Saturday referring to the need to respect the rights of all athletes to be treated without any discrimination, in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
In its statement, the IOC said that “no athlete should be prevented from competing because of their passport” and that “there should therefore be further exploration of a pathway for athletes to compete under strict conditions”
The Olympic Charter must prevail
The Olympic Charter must be the guide, said the Special Rapporteurs. They view the IOC’s recent statement as a reversal of the World Sport Committee’s recommendation to ban athletes and officials from these countries, which came days following the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“The IOC recommendation raised serious issues of direct discrimination,” the UN experts said. “We understand the desire to support Ukrainian athletes and the Ukrainian Olympic community, who are suffering terribly from the war, as well as all other Ukrainians. But the Olympic Committee and the broader Olympic community also have a compelling obligation to uphold the Olympic Charter, and broader international human rights standards prohibiting discrimination,” they added.
Referring to the IOC’s condition that only Russian and Belarusian athletes who have not actively supported the war in Ukraine would be allowed to compete in a neutral capacity, the experts urged the IOC to take more steps to align its recommendations with international human rights standards on non-discrimination. “When states so blatantly ignore human rights, we have a greater obligation to stand up for our shared values,” the experts said.
“This condition opens the door to pressures and interpretations,” they added. “The same rules must apply to all athletes, regardless of their nationality. This includes the rule that any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence is prohibited”.
CIO: sanctions are not negotiable
Meanwhile, the IOC issued a statement on Tuesday, reaffirming that “sanctions once morest Russian and Belarusian states and governments are non-negotiable. They were unanimously confirmed by the recent Olympic summit meeting on December 9, 2022”.
The statement on the IOC’s ban – which notably bars the Russian Federation and Belarus from hosting international sports competitions – came shortly following the Olympic Council of Asia invited Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the region.
In recent statements, Ukrainian leaders condemned the decision of the Olympic Council of Asia to include Russian and Belarusian athletes.
NOTE :
Special rapporteurs are part of what are called special procedures of the Human Rights Council. The Special Procedures, which constitute the largest body of independent experts in the United Nations human rights system, are the general name for the Council’s independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that deal either with specific national situations or thematic issues in all regions of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent of any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
