Russian and Belarusian athletes broke rules on Ukraine war, rights group says

THE HAGUE : Ten Russian and seven Belarusian athletes cleared to compete in the Paris Olympics have violated the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) rules on neutrality regarding Russia's invasion of Ukraine and should be barred, an international rights group said on Thursday.

Global Rights Compliance, which tracks violations of international humanitarian law in the conflict and assists war crimes prosecutors in gathering evidence of alleged violations, said it had presented evidence to the IOC substantiating the assertions, but that the committee had ignored its warnings.

The athletes in question are among 15 Russians and 16 Belarusians who have been cleared by a review panel established by the IOC and have accepted invitations to compete in the Games, which run from July 26 to Aug. 11, it said.

Global Rights Compliance called on the IOC to urgently reconsider the decision to clear the sportsmen and women and to "ban pro-war athletes according to its own rules and commitments to the United Nations Business and Human Rights Principles".

"These Olympic Games should be an opportunity for the IOC to affirm and demonstrate its respect for its own human rights policy," said Wayne Jordash, president of Global Rights Compliance.

He said the IOC was turning a blind eye to the involvement of Russian and Belarusian athletes who have shown support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the IOC said it could not comment on individual cases or on the decisions of the review panel, which had assessed the athletes according to the agreed guidelines. The IOC had nothing further to add, the spokesperson said.

The Russian and Belarusian Olympic Committees did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The IOC condemned