U.S. Sens. Todd Young (R-IN) and Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined a bipartisan group of senators in urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to hold host cities accountable to international human rights standards during the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing and other forthcoming Olympic games.
“We hold great concern that the People’s Republic of China, a country plagued with violent suppression of free speech, state-sponsored oppression, and human rights abuses, is set to serve as host to the 2022 Olympic Winter Games without proper guidelines or requirements,” the senators wrote in a recent letter sent to Thomas Bach, president of the IOC.
Among the members joining Sens. Young and Blackburn in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Edward Markey (D-MA).
According to their letter, host cities for years have committed human rights abuses during the Olympics, prompting the IOC in December 2014 to unanimously adopt the Olympic Agenda 2020, which maintains that “Olympic principles are United Nations principles.”
One reform for adhering to such international principles is an overhaul to the Host City Contract requirements, which must be fully implemented by 2024, according to their letter.
“Rightfully present in the revised Host City Contract under the Olympic Agenda 2020 is an address of the host city’s respect of human rights,” the senators wrote. “These revised Host City Contract requirements include protection of human rights and labor-related protections, as well as the assurance that all violations of human rights, fraud, or acts of corruption are remedied in accordance with applicable international agreements, laws, and regulations.”
Sens. Young, Blackburn and their colleagues are concerned that delaying application of the guidelines until the 2024 Olympics “leaves China free reign in 2022.”
“China has made evident their exploitation of human labor and violation of human rights,” wrote the senators, who cited “Beijing’s past actions when entrusted with the Olympic torch.”
For instance, according to a U.S. State Department’s annual Report on Human Rights Practices, the country’s human rights abuses peaked around the 2008 Olympic Games, according to their letter, which noted numerous abuses, including heightened harassment, detention and incarceration of dissidents and restrictions on the right to assemble and raise grievances, among many others.
“The Olympic Games are a shining example of the best that humans can be,” wrote the senators. “We urge you to allow this to be true across all arenas and implement the most current Host City Requirements for each forthcoming Games.”