Against the background of the ongoing and deadly Russian invasion of Ukraine, the experts say called on the IOC to take a decision in this direction and go further.
Level playing field required
Alexandra Xanthaki, Special Rapporteur on Cultural Rights and Ashwini KP, Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerancecalled on the World Olympic Organization to also ensure non-discrimination against athletes based on their nationality and emphasized this no athlete should be forced to take sides in the conflict.
Non-discriminatory sport
With the permission of the IOC, athletes could take part in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Following the UN experts’ discussions with the IOC’s Executive Board, the world sport’s governing body issued a statement on Saturday, highlighting the need Respect the right of all athletes to be treated without discriminationin line with the Olympic Charter.
In its statement, the IOC said “No athlete should be prevented from competing just because of their passport” and that “a way for athletes to compete under strict conditions should therefore be further investigated.”
The Olympic Charter must prevail
The Olympic Charter must be the guide, said the special rapporteurs. They see the latest IOC statement as a reversal of the World Sports Committee’s recommended ban on athletes and officials from those countries, which came days after the Russian Federation invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“The IOC recommendation raised serious problems of direct discrimination”, the UN experts called. “We understand the desire to support Ukrainian athletes and the Ukrainian Olympic community, which, along with all other Ukrainians, is suffering terribly from the war, but the Olympic Committee and more broadly, the Olympic community also have a mandatory obligation to abide by the Olympic Charterand, more broadly, international human rights law that prohibits discrimination.”
Same rules for everyone
Citing the IOC’s condition that only Russian and Belarusian athletes who have not actively supported the war in Ukraine be allowed to compete in a neutral capacity, the experts urged the IOC to do so take further steps to align their recommendations with international human rights standards on non-discrimination. “When states so shamelessly ignore human rights, we have a greater obligation to uphold our shared values.” said the experts.
“This condition opens the door for pressure and interpretation,” they said. “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.”
IOC: sanctions non-negotiable
Meanwhile, the IOC issued a statement on Tuesday reiterating the same “The sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian states and governments are non-negotiable. They were unanimously confirmed by the recent Olympic Summit on December 9, 2022.” The statement on the IOC ban – which bans the Russian Federation and Belarus, among others, from hosting international sports competitions – came shortly after the Olympic Council of Asia had invited Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the region.
In recent news reports, the leadership of Ukraine condemned the decision of the Asian Olympic Council to admit Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Role of UN rapporteurs
Special rapporteurs are appointed by the UN Human Rights Councilwhich is based in Geneva. Their mandate is to investigate and report on a specific human rights issue or situation in a country.
The positions are honorary and the experts are not paid for their work.
