Greek Alexandra Xantaki, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on cultural rights, said that removing Russian athletes from international competitions would not help Ukraine.
“This is direct discrimination on the basis of nationality. Mixing governments with individuals is a very, very bad idea,” says Xanthaki NRK.
He noted that he did not see any problem in some Russian athletes having military rank.
“Many countries have athletes linked to the military. There are many states that violate human rights. Should we exclude them? We wouldn’t do that,” Xantaki added.
On February 7, the Olympic and Paralympic committees of the Nordic countries and their sports confederations – including Sweden, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Greenland and the Faroe Islands, Finland, the Åland Islands – issued a joint statement. Participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes in international competitions.
The International Olympic Committee reported earlier that the organization said that Russians and Belarusians, who did not express their active support for the special operation on the territory of Ukraine, are considering participation in the Olympic Games.
Former Austrian Minister of Sports Werner Kogler opposed Russian athletes’ participation in the Olympic Games – 2024.