Human rights groups urge athletes to boycott Beijing Olympics

A coalition of human rights groups said that continued human rights violations by China had left them with no option but to seek a complete boycott of next year’s Winter Olympics to be held in Beijing.

Human rights activists urged athletes to boycott next year’s Winter Olympics so that pressure can be put on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to cancel the Games.

Beijing is to host the Olympics in February 2022, but the IOC has been subjected to severe criticism over its decision to award the event to the country in light of a grave human rights record.

The calls for a complete boycott came ahead of a US congressional hearing at which China’s human rights record and the Winter Olympics were being discussed.

Representatives of China Against the Death Penalty, Campaign for Uyghurs, World Uyghur Congress, Tibet Action Institute, and Students for a Free Tibet told a media conference that they were seeking a full boycott of the Games due to continued human rights violations.

Lhadon Tethong of the Tibet Action Institute said: “There’s still time to create a difference. This is not the end of the story”. 

The coalition released a statement that said that participating in the Beijing Olympic Games at such a time would be equivalent to endorsing China’s genocide of the Uyghur people. The coalition said that all stakeholders should act against legitimizing the repressive policies of the totalitarian regime in China.

“We think that athletes are people of conscience and they have the power to use their personalities and platforms to stop injustice,” said the statement. “We call on all those who believe in the universal right to life and freedom join our movement,” it further elaborated.

It said that these games cannot be held in a “business as usual” manner; IOC and the international community have to act immediately.