Ahead of Beijing 2022, the Olympic movement must champion human rights as part of its mandate
Surya Deva says besides their pledge of non-discrimination, all host cities should also commit to protecting the environment and the welfare of workers and affected communities
The decision of the International Olympic Committee to award the 2022 Winter Games to Beijing has been criticised by human rights organisations, which held up China's tainted human rights record as a reason the Games should not have been awarded to it.
Was the committee wrong to bring back the Olympics to Beijing? More importantly, is it the committee's business to promote human rights? The committee is bound by the Olympic Charter, which declares that the "practice of sport is a human right" and that every 'individual must have the possibility of practising sport, without discrimination of any kind … such as race, colour, sex, sexual orientation, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status".
Consistent with this mandate, the Olympic committee last year decided to include a non-discrimination clause in host city contracts aimed at addressing discrimination against the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. This comes in the wake of the controversy at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.
On a superficial reading of the Olympic Charter, one may think that the committee needs only to uphold the right to play sports without any discrimination. However, human rights by their very nature are interdependent: the human right to practise sports cannot be realised unless people have the right to be free from unlawful detention and their rights to food, water, health, education, housing and sanitation are secured. The committee should, therefore, take a holistic view of human rights in discharging its mandate under the Olympic Charter.
Hosting any major sports event involves building large stadiums and extensive supporting infrastructure. These mega projects often result in the forced dislocation of poor people, or the exploitation of workers who toil in the construction projects. The deplorable condition faced by migrant workers engaged in the construction of soccer stadiums in Qatar is a case in point.
Should it not be the responsibility of the Olympic committee to address these concerns?