IOC: Anti-Discrimination Clause To Be Incorporated In All Host City Contracts, Beginning 2022 Olympics

IOC: Anti-Discrimination Clause To Be Incorporated In All Host City Contracts, Beginning 2022 Olympics

In a move to prevent a repeat of the controversies generated by Russia's hosting of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) now requires future host cities to abide by Fundamental Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter, which reads: "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." One year before the Sochi games, Russia passed a law which prohibit gay "propaganda" to minors, leading to international protests by gay movements and human rights groups.

According to the Associated Press, the IOC in a letter to the 2022 candidate host cities - Almaty in Kazakhstan, Beijing in China, and Oslo in Norway - officially informed them of the changes in the language of the contract which will bind them in the event they win the bid for the staging of the next Olympic Games. The letter, which was dated September 16, was signed by Christophe Dubi, the IOC Olympic Games Executive Director, and Howard Stupp, the IOC Director of Legal Affairs.

The contract with the IOC now carries a new clause which states: "The city and the NOC (National Olympic Committees) acknowledge and accept the importance of the games and the value of the Olympic image, and agree to conduct all activities in a manner which promotes and enhances the fundamental principles and values of Olympism, in particular the prohibition of any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender or otherwise, as well as the development of the Olympic Movement."

Andre Banks, co-founder and executive director of All Out, lauded the IOC initiative for sending "a clear message to future host cities that human rights violations, including those against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, will not be tolerated."

Aside from the inclusion of the anti-discrimination clause, the IOC in its letter also said that it will no longer make unilateral changes to the sports program after the host city has been chosen. Any changes made by the IOC after the selection that create "material adverse effects" has to be covered by a "mutual agreement between the Parties to the Host City Contract." In the past, the IOC has been criticized for adding sports or events three or four years before the actual Olympic Games, which in turn added unexpected extra costs to the host cities.

 

 

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