Aug 20, 2019

#NoRightsNoGames2022: Campaign to End Uyghur Human Rights Violations Ahead of the 2022 Olympics in China


Ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics that are scheduled to take place in Beijing, UNPO Member the World Uyghur Congress (WUC) has launched a campaign to call upon China to respect the human rights of Uyghurs or lose the right to host the 2022 Olympics. It also directly petitions the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to take its responsibilities seriously by following its own ethical principles.

Launched by a global collective of activists, the campaign #NoRightsNoGames2022 urges China to close the system of internment camps in the Uyghur region, where it is estimated that more than one million Uyghurs and other Turkic ethnic Muslims are being detained. If China maintains its internment camp policy, which directly violates its human rights obligations under international law, it is not fit to host the 2022 Olympics.

Moreover, the campaign directly petitions the IOC to take their responsibility seriously in making sure that a host country of the Olympics is following the ethical principles outlined in the Olympic charter. As one of the fundamental principles outlined in the Olympic Charter is “the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity”, the systemic violations of the human rights of Uyghurs in China directly contradicts these principles and the spirit of the Olympics.

Therefore, it is imperative that any country that hosts the Olympics fulfils its duties to protect the human rights of all its citizens. Clearly, if a country fails to do so on an extensive scale like China currently does, it should not be allowed to host the Olympics. Currently, 900 days before the 2022 Olympics, two options remain: for China to respect the human rights of Uyghurs by closing the internment camps or for the IOC to act in accordance with its fundamental principles and take away China’s rights to host the Olympics.

The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization (UNPO) expresses its support for the #NoRightsNoGames2022 campaign, and once more urges the People’s Republic of China to end the persecution of Uyghurs by closing the internment camps and to respect the human rights of all its citizens. Moreover, it calls upon the IOC to make sure that it acts according to its fundamental principles that are supposed to advance universal human rights. Both China and the IOC have a clear responsibility to ensure that the Olympic Games are held in a country that respects international norms. If China maintains its internment camp policy into 2022, it should not be considered a fit host.

 

SIGN THE PETITION HERE