IOC responds to Swiss demand for exclusion of Russian officials
The flag of Ukraine is displayed on March 2 amid flags from other nations in the Paralympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games
Olympic Information Services/ioc
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has justified the non-exclusion of Russian and Belarusian officials, saying IOC members are elected as individuals by the IOC and, according to the Olympic Charter, do not represent their country in the body.
The Lausanne-based IOC was speaking to the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA on Monday in response to Swiss demands that officials from those two countries be banned from top positions in international sports federations.
The IOC added that currently there are no IOC meetings in which Russian members participate.
On Thursday Swiss Sports Minister Viola Amherd sent a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, saying that in view of the situation in Ukraine it was no longer sufficient to exclude only athletes from the two countries from competitions abroad.
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Switzerland wants Russians and Belarusians excluded from sports federations
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The International Olympic Committee is under pressure to exclude Russian and Belarusians from top positions in international sports federations.
In March a group of around 30 countries, including Switzerland, issued a declaration calling for effective measures to be taken by international sports federations against Russia and Belarus.
On Saturday Christoph Lauener, head of communications at the Swiss Federal Office of Sport said Switzerland had taken a clear position with the statement. However, the international sports federations are organised under private law. The IOC has much more effective means than the state and can exclude the federations from the Olympic family if necessary, he added.
On Wednesday Matthias Remund, director of the Federal Office of Sport, emphasised that further steps were needed. Switzerland, as the home country of numerous international sports federations, now expected a strong signal from sport, he said. Swiss Olympic also supports the government’s position.
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In its response on Monday, the IOC said it intended to continue to “denounce individuals and organisations who are responsible for this war and who violate the Olympic peace”.
It said it was monitoring the situation closely and reserved the right to adjust measures depending on further developments.
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