IPAC Acts Against Beijing Olympics

Statement

The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) has announced a series of coordinated legislative actions on the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in light of widespread human rights abuses in the Uyghur Region and elsewhere in China.

In a statement launching the campaign, IPAC highlighted the incompatibility of Olympics principles with the Chinese Communist Party’s ongoing gross violations of human rights, saying:

“The Olympic Games are an opportunity for people across the world to unite in a shared celebration of sport, friendship and solidarity – a celebration which should transcend national and political divides.

We, the Co-Chairs of the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, are of the shared belief that this cannot be reconciled with holding the Games in a country whose government stands credibly accused of perpetrating atrocity crimes against its own population. To do so discredits the ethos of the Olympic movement and undermines its purpose.”

The statement also called for urgent action from political leaders and national representatives to reach a solution that makes clear the world does not condone and will not whitewash these ongoing crimes. Read the full statement here.

Campaign Highlights

Parliamentary initiatives on the Beijing Olympics have been announced by IPAC Members across the following legislatures:

• United States: A bipartisan resolution led by Representatives Tom Malinowski and Mike Gallagher, and supported by Chair Gregory Meeks and Ranking Member Michael McCaul of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives, has been submitted to Congress calling on the International Olympics Committee (IOC) to initiate an “emergency search process” for a suitable replacement venue for the 2022 Winter Olympics given ongoing crimes against humanity committed by the host government.
  
  
• United Kingdom: The House of Commons voted unanimously on a backbench business motion calling for government representatives to decline invitations to the 2022 Winter Games unless the Chinese government puts a stop to the atrocities in the Uyghur Region. The motion was led by IPAC member Tim Loughton MP and received cross party support.
  
  
• European Parliament: MEPs voted overwhelmingly in favour of a motion calling for representatives of EU Member States to decline invitations to attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics. The motion was co-authored by IPAC MEPs including Reinhard Bütikofer, Miriam Lexmann, Engin Eroglu, David Lega and Anna Fotyga, among others.
  
  
• Germany: Gyde Jensen MdB has submitted a question to the Secretary of State calling on the German government to make a public commitment to staging a diplomatic boycott of the Games.
  
  
• Canada: Garnett Genuis MP addressed the Minister of Foreign Affairs Marc Garneau in the House of Commons, calling on the government to decline invitations to the Games so long as atrocities continue in the Uyghur Region.
  
  
• Italy: Senator Lucio Malan will deposit a motion encouraging broadcasters to use the opportunity presented by the Beijing Olympic Games to dedicate programme time to discussions of human rights issues in China.
  
  
• Czechia: A resolution submitted by Senator Pavel Fischer calling on government leaders not to attend the Games and for UN officials to investigate atrocities in the Uyghur and Tibetan Regions was passed by the Czech Senate.
  
  
• Switzerland: Fabian Molina MP has submitted an interpellation to the Federal Council calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Games and asking what guarantees the IOC has sought on press freedoms during the Games.
  
  
• Sweden: Fredrik Malm MP has formally called upon the Minister of Foreign Affairs to state before the Riksdag its policy on whether government representatives should attend the Beijing Olympics.
  
  
• Denmark: Uffe Elbaek MP has submitted a question to the Minister of Culture asking for the government to publicly state that members of the royal family and government should decline invitations to attend the Games.
  
  
• Lithuania: Dovilė Šakalienė, IPAC Co-Chair from Lithuanian Parliament, Member of National Security and Defense Committee, together with Žygimantas Pavilionis, Chair of Foreign Affairs Committee, are preparing to register a resolution calling for government officials to decline invitations to attend the Beijing Olympics.