During the Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement held in Baku, Azerbaijan on July 5 and 6, 2023, a Special Declaration on Olympics and Paralympic Games to be held in Paris in 2024 was adopted. The Declaration started by recalling the previous resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, including the most recent one -76/13 dated December 2, 2021 which called upon Member States to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Paralympic Committee in efforts to use sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This resolution also recognized that sports and the Olympic and Paralympic Games can be used to promote human rights and strengthen universal respect for such rights, thus contributing to their full realization. The resolution was sponsored by 173 UN Member States, including almost all the Member States of the Non-Aligned Movement.
The NAM Special Declaration on Olympic and Paralympic Games noted further the International Charter of Physical Education, Physical Activity and Sport adopted by UNESCO General Conference in 2015, where it is stated that every human being has a fundamental right to physical education, physical activity and sport without discrimination. In line with the Chater, NAM also accords importance to universal principles of gender equality, non-discrimination and social inclusion in and through sport. As stated in the Charter, NAM also highlights the benefits of physical activity, the sustainability of sport, the inclusion of persons with disabilities, and the protection of children. The NAM Declaration recognized the valuable contribution of sport in promoting education, sustainable development, peace, cooperation, solidarity, fairness, social inclusion and health, and noted that sports can contribute to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding among peoples and nations.
The NAM Declaration acknowledged that the Olympic Games are a platform for unity and solidarity. It also stated that the Olympic Games have always been at the forefront of sending messages of peace and dialogue for humanity. NAM Special Declaration stressed that sports should not be politicized, and that ports organizations within the Olympic Movement shall apply neutrality as reflected in the Olympic Charter.
Importantly, the NAM Special Declaration recognized the inadmissibility of introducing restrictive measures against athletes, including those with disabilities, on the basis of their nationality. This assumes importance in the context of position taken by the IOC on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions, including qualifiers for the Olympic Games. The position adopted by NAM is also in conformity with that adapted by the IOC. On December 9, 2022, during the 11th Olympic Summit, the IOC was requested to explore a pathway for athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport to return to international competitions as Individual neutral athletes. This was deliberated upon by the IOC and in March 2023, the IOC Executive Board (EB) stated in its recommendations that no flag, anthems or other national symbols of Russia and Belarus whatsoever should be displayed at any international sports events. At the same time, the IOC EB also stated that sports organizations must have the sole responsibility to decide which athletes can take part in international competitions based on their sporting merits and not on political grounds or because of their passports. The IOC EB recommended that athletes with a Russian or a Belarusian passport must compete only as individual neutral athletes. The IOC EB also stated that only those such athletes would be allowed to compete who do not support the ongoing war on Ukraine. The IOC EB also stated that athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot compete. Further, support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot be entered.
After the NAM Special Declaration on Olympics was issued, the IOC President Thomas Bach thanked the Non-Aligned Movement for the support extended for its moves toward letting some Russian and Belarusian athletes qualify for the Paris Olympics. “The IOC warmly welcomes the support of the 120 member states of the Non-Aligned Movement. We are greatly encouraged by this strong commitment to the unifying mission of the Olympic Games. Thank you to the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for taking the initiative for this important resolution,” Thomas Bach remarked.
