China: International Olympic Committee Operating in Moral Void

The refusal of the IOC to dissociate itself from the abuses directly linked to the preparation of the Beijing Games is undermining human rights in China and flouting the spirit and the letter of the Olympic Charter, Human Rights Watch said.  
 
“The question isn’t whether the IOC is a human rights organization,” said Sophie Richardson, Asia advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. “It’s whether the Olympic movement respects human rights. If it does, remaining silent as China’s crackdown intensifies isn’t acceptable.”  
 
The IOC has not spoken publicly about a wide variety of human rights abuses in China, including: ongoing restrictions on foreign media that violate China’s formal commitment made to win the right to host the Games; the jailing of two civil rights activists who criticized the Beijing Olympics, Yang Chunlin and Hu Jia, on charges of state subversion; and the decision to carry the Olympic torch relay through Tibet despite an ongoing crackdown on ethnic Tibetans, a military lockdown of the region, and a denial by the Chinese authorities to allow an international commission of inquiry to go to Tibet.  
 
The letter urged the Ethics Commission, an independent body in charge of elaborating ethical principles based on the values and principles enshrined in the Olympic Charter, to articulate standards compatible with the respect of human rights to guide the Olympic movement. Human Rights Watch is also urging the IOC to publicly assess the extent to which current human rights violations linked to the preparation of the Games were violating the commitments made by China at the time of its bid to host the Olympic Games, and to establish a standing mechanism to address human rights concerns.  

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