RSF Pushes for Human Rights and Freedom of Expression in Olympic Selection

Via Reporters Without Borders -

Reporters Without Borders today urged leaders of the Olympic Movement to start considering respect for human rights and freedom of expression in awarding future Olympic Games so as to avoid the kind of controversy that has enveloped the Beijing Olympics which opens in two months time.

“Discussion of the criteria for assigning future Olympics must begin now if a new Beijing Games situation is to be avoided in years to come,” the worldwide press freedom organisation said. “Candidate cities already have to meet clear technical, material and environmental conditions to be to awarded the Games, so why not add respect for freedom of expression in the host countries?

“The International Olympic Committee (IOC) could, for example, take into account whether independent media outlets exist, as well as the degree of censorship and how far local and foreign journalists are allowed to move around.

“The Olympic Charter encourages respect for human dignity but to achieve that, sport is not enough. It must include the rule of law, universal democratic values and basic individual rights. The IOC must start focusing on this and national Olympic committees must back it or the Games may be awarded for 12 or 16 years from now to another country that does not respect human rights.

“The IOC would greatly enhance its reputation by announcing immediately that it would consider including human rights in future awarding of the Games to host cities. It would thus regain the legitimacy it has lost in recent months,” Reporters Without Borders said.