12/10/18 02:36:00
Printable Page
12/10 14:32 CST IOC human rights advisory committee to start with 2024 Games
IOC human rights advisory committee to start with 2024 Games
By STEPHEN WADE
AP Sports Writer
TOKYO (AP) --- The IOC has set up an advisory committee on human rights chaired
by Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein, the former U.N. high commissioner for human rights.
President Thomas Bach said Saturday at meetings in the Japanese capital that
"human rights standards" will be included in Olympic host-city contracts,
beginning with the 2024 Games in Paris.
Bach was asked if the committee would look at human rights in China, where the
ruling Communist Party has been criticized for the internment of hundreds of
thousands of Muslims in western China.
Beijing is the host of the 2022 Winter Olympics, and spent $40 billion to hold
the 2008 Olympics.
Bach said the IOC would not question China because it "has not the mandate nor
the authority to solve the human rights problems" that are clearly "political
issues."
A recent report by Human Rights Watch said the internment centers in western
China involved "arbitrary detention, torture and mistreatment."
"These rampant abuses violate fundamental rights of freedom of expression,
religion, and privacy and protections from torture," Human Rights Watch wrote.
China denies such internment camps exist but says criminals involved in minor
offenses are sent to "vocational education and employment training centers" to
help with their rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
Bach suggested the committee would focus on issues like the rights of
transgender athletes.
"We should concentrate on what we can really achieve and what we can really
do," Bach said.
The IOC has been faulted for overlooking human rights abuses in countries that
spend billions to host the Olympics.
"Promoting humanistic values in sport has been a core feature of the IOC since
its beginning," Bach said in a prepared statement. "Our mission, to put sport
at the service of humanity, goes hand in hand with human rights, which is part
of our DNA."
___
More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
|
