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  • 2021-12-14 (xsd:date)
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  • reads a March 2020 report on IOC's human rights approach published on the organization's website.The IOC announced in February 2017 that it had revised its host city contract and added human rights principles to it to prevent rights abuses by future Olympic hosts. The new contract was first applied in the bidding for the 2024 Summer Olympics (en)
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  • With less than two months before the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics open, China has been facing a widening diplomatic boycott.To protest alleged human rights abuses by China, the Biden administration announced December 6 that it would not send government officials to the games, though U.S. athletes would compete.Some U.S. allies, including Australia, United Kingdom, Canada, New Zealand and Kosovo, followed suit, though New Zealand cited "mostly" pandemic concerns. Japan is the latest to join the boycott, announcing December 11 that it probably won't send Cabinet ministers.Beijing has called the diplomatic moves a "self-staged farce" and vowed that boycotters "will pay a price for their erroneous moves." Beijing has also repeatedly accused the United States and others of violating the Olympic Charter.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says no U.K. government minister will attend the Beijing Olympics, Dec. 8, 2021. (House of Commons/AP)"Any act that attempts to politicize sports in the name of human rights and freedom violates the spirit of the Olympic Charter," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on December 9.That is false. Although the Olympic Charter mandates "political neutrality" for sports organizations, promotion of human rights is front and center in the charter itself.The Olympic Charter is the codification of the seven Fundamental Principles of Olympism, the rules and bylaws adopted by the IOC."The Olympic Movement's commitment to protecting human rights is codified in the Olympic Charter," reads a 2018 article published by the IOC as the world celebrated the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights."It is more important than ever to ensure that the Olympic Games and sport in general continue to be an expression and promoter of human rights," the article said.IOC president Thomas Bach speaks during the opening ceremony of the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, February 9, 2018.A page titled "Respecting Human Rights" on the IOC website states that "at all times, the IOC recognizes and upholds human rights, as enshrined in both the Fundamental Principles of the Olympic Charter and the IOC Code of Ethics."The first Fundamental Principle of Olympism states that "Olympism seeks to create a way of life based on the joy of effort, the educational value of good example, social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles." The second principle states that "the goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity." (Italic emphasis added.)The charter makes more explicit references to human rights in the fourth principle, where it recognizes that "the practice of sport is a human right" and "every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind."The sixth principle clarifies that "the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Olympic Charter shall be secured without discrimination of any kind, such as race, color, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. At its core (en)
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