The European Parliament's resolution opposing the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is contrary to the peacekeeping mission of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Charter, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 21st February, 2023) The European Parliament's resolution opposing the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris is contrary to the peacekeeping mission of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Charter, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Tuesday.
On January 25, the IOC's executive committee said it might allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete in the 2024 Olympics under a neutral flag, causing outrage and protests from a group of 35 countries. On February 18, the European Parliament voted in favor of a resolution condemning the decision of the IOC to consider allowing Russian and Belarusian athletes to the Olympic Games. The parliament also called for pressure to be put on the IOC to abandon its openness toward athletes from these two countries.
"The declaration is in clear contradiction with the unifying peace-building mission of the Olympic Games and the Olympic Charter, endorsed multiple times by the European Union and its member states," the IOC said in a statement, adding that the request by the European Parliament for the "multifaceted isolation" of all Russians and Belarusians "clearly contradicts" the goal of the Olympic community to comply with human rights norms prohibiting discrimination.
At the same time, the statement noted that the IOC had not yet decided on the participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes.
Many international sports organizations have banned Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in their competitions in response to Moscow's ongoing military operation in Ukraine and Minsk's support for it.
On February 1, the United Nations welcomed the IOC's decision to allow athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in international sports tournaments, and at the same time, urged the committee to ensure the non-discrimination of any athlete on the basis of their nationality. Meanwhile, Ukraine condemned the IOC's position and threatened to boycott the games.
