IOC decides interim measures against NOC of Belarus

IOC, in its statement, said that the NOC of Belarus had not appropriately protected the Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member federations, or the sports movement.

Lausanne (Switzerland): The International Olympic Council (IOC) on Monday decided to hold back the election of Viktor Lukashenko as the new President of the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus.

IOC, in its statement, said that the NOC of Belarus had not appropriately protected the Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member federations, or the sports movement.

"Further to the IOC Executive Board decision of 7 December 2020 in relation to the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus, the IOC has been informed that the quadrennial Elective General Assembly of the NOC took place on 26 February 2021. The IOC notes that the NOC Statutes were updated in line with the usual standards of good governance," IOC said.

IOC said specific provisions were expressly included to ensure better protection of the athletes' rights and preserve the athletes from any discrimination or undue pressure. It also included to strengthen the autonomy of the NOC by ensuring in particular that the elected members of the NOC Executive Board no longer simultaneously occupy any governmental position; better reflect gender equality within the NOC Executive Board; and introduce limitations on the number of terms and a maximum age limit for the elected members of the NOC Executive Board.

"However, the IOC also noted with great disappointment that the NOC had failed to fully address the first item of the IOC EB decision of 7 December 2020 that the previous leadership of the NOC of Belarus had not appropriately protected the Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member federations or the sports movement," IOC said.

The following are the provisional measures that IOC EB adopted on Monday:

1. To not recognise the election of Viktor Lukashenko as the new President of the NOC of Belarus and the election of Dmitry Baskov as a member of the NOC Executive Board and maintain their exclusion from all IOC events and activities, including the Olympic Games. The IOC will liaise with the NOC and the other members of the newly elected Executive Board through the NOC Secretary-General.

2. To maintain the other provisional measures taken by the IOC Executive Board on 7 December 2020, as follows:

- Suspend all financial payments to the NOC of Belarus, with the exception of payments related to the athletes' scholarships and the preparations of the Belarusian team for, and their participation in, the Olympic Games.

- Request the relevant International Federations to make sure that all eligible Belarusian athletes can take part in qualification events for the upcoming Olympic Games without any political discrimination.

- Suspend any discussions with the NOC of Belarus regarding the hosting of future IOC events.

- Request all constituents of the Olympic Movement to respect these measures in the interest of protecting Belarusian athletes' rights and the reputation of the Olympic Movement.

3. To request the NOC of Belarus and its member federations to ensure that there is no political discrimination in the participation of the Belarusian athletes in qualification events, and in the final selection of the team of the NOC of Belarus, for all Olympic Games.

4. To not invite or grant any accreditation to any senior Government official from the Republic of Belarus for the Olympic Games.

The statement further read that the IOC Executive Board will continue to monitor the situation, and reserves the right to consider any further action or to remove any of these provisional measures, depending on the evolution of the situation.