ＩＯＣが各国政府に反論、人権軽視を指摘　ロシア選手「中立」案

【ローザンヌＡＦＰ＝時事】ロシアとベラルーシのアスリートが中立の立場で２０２４年パリ五輪に参加できるようにするという提案をめぐり、国際オリンピック委員会（ＩＯＣ）は２１日、理由の「明確化」を求めた各国政府は、「明確な人権に関する懸念」に対応できていないと話した。（写真は五輪旗）
　世界３０か国以上の政府は２０日、両国選手の中立での参加に対して懸念を表明したが、ＩＯＣはその返答として、「国連人権理事会の特別報告者が示した明確な人権に関する懸念に、（各国の）発表文は対処していない」と指摘した。
　ＩＯＣ理事会は、１月下旬に国連の特別報告者２人と話し合った後の発表文で、五輪憲章に従ってすべての選手の権利を尊重し、平等に扱う必要性を訴えた。
　各国政府への返答の中でＩＯＣは、中立の選手の定義については昨年１２月に検討済みだと主張。「五輪ムーブメントの全関係者のリーダーが、今回の人権に関する懸念に取り組み、そうした中立性の幅広い原則を確立した」と述べた。
　原則では中立の選手に対して、テニスなどの多くの個人スポーツと同じように、「自らの国や、国内のその他の組織を決して代表しない」こと、また「五輪憲章を全面的に尊重する」ことを求めている。
　ＩＯＣは「ウクライナでの戦争を積極的に支持するという、われわれの平和の使命に反する行動を取っていない選手のみが出場できる」としている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2023/02/22-20:28）

The IOC said on Tuesday the governments who had asked for clarification over how Russian and Belarusian athletes would be able to compete as neutral athletes in the Paris 2024 Olympics had not addressed explicit human rights concerns.
In a letter seen on Monday by AFP, over 30 countries expressed concern about how neutral the athletes could be, particularly given the strong links and affiliations between Russian athletes and the Russian military.
We have strong concerns on how feasible it is for Russian and Belarusian Olympic athletes to compete as 'neutrals'... when they are directly funded and supported by their states, read the letter.
It said that these strong concerns need to be dealt with by the IOC.
However, the IOC in their reply on Tuesday noted the explicit human rights concerns expressed by two special rapporteurs of the United Nations Human Rights Council have not been addressed in the statement.
The IOC Executive Board held discussions with the two special rapporteurs in late January.
Following that they issued a statement referring to the need to respect the rights of all athletes to be treated without any discrimination, in accordance with the Olympic Charter.
Russia and its ally Belarus, which allowed its territory to be used as a launchpad when Moscow began its invasion of Ukraine last February, have been sidelined from most Olympic sports since the war began.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it is exploring a pathway to allow Russian and Belarusian competitors to take part in the Paris Games, under a neutral flag -- sparking fury from Ukraine.
The letter to the IOC follows a summit earlier this month in London attended by France, Britain, the United States and Canada, among others.
- 'Constructive questions' -
The IOC said in their reply the definition of what constituted a neutral athlete were initially tackled last December.
In December last year, the leaders of all the stakeholders of the Olympic Movement addressed these human rights concerns and established the broad principles of such neutrality, the IOC said.
The principles demand that neutral athletes would in no way represent their state or any other organisation in their country, as is this case in many individual sports such as tennis, and that they fully respect the Olympic Charter.
Only those who have not acted against the peace mission of the IOC by actively supporting the war in Ukraine could compete, the IOC said, adding that athletes would also need to fully comply with the world anti-doping code.
The IOC said that discussions were a work in progress.
There have been ongoing detailed consultations with these stakeholders in order to define these principles in more detail.
In this context, the constructive questions expressed in the statement will be taken into due consideration.
The IOC and its president Thomas Bach have come in for heavy criticism over their stance although the German said last week he shared the grief and human suffering of Ukrainian athletes.
However, he added it was not up to individual governments to decide who takes part in international sporting competition.
Kyiv mayor and former heavyweight boxing world champion Vitali Klitschko hit back, telling AFP that people are either for or against war.
I would be very happy to invite Thomas Bach to Kyiv, to Ukraine so that he can see for himself the destroyed villages, the cities, to see how many people are killed.
He doesn't understand... or plays some games with Russia.