Members of the International Coalition for Democratic Renewal call on democratic governments and on representatives of international institutions not to send official political representation to the 2022 Winter Olympics and to diplomatically boycott the Games.
As other countries generally have very limited influence over China's domestic human rights practices, the Olympic Games present a rare opportunity to bring human rights abuses in China into the spotlight and send a clear message to all authoritarians, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), as well as other top international sporting bodies, that human rights and human dignity matter.
The statement calls on all democratic states to follow the lead of the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and other countries that have already announced a diplomatic boycott of the competition. It also calls on the IOC, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), International Tennis Federation (ITF), International Paralympic Committee (IPC) and other top international sporting bodies to no longer give authoritarian states that violate basic human rights the opportunity to host important international sporting events and thus legitimize their repressive regimes.
International Coalition for Democratic Renewal (ICDR or Coalition) is a Forum 2000 Foundation project, which brings together a global group of intellectuals, activists, and politicians concerned with the expansion of power and influence of authoritarian regimes and the simultaneous weakening of democratic systems from within. The ICDR aims to reaffirm the fundamental principles of democracy, to take the offensive against the authoritarian opponents of democracy, and to demonstrate solidarity with the brave people who are fighting for freedom in undemocratic systems around the world.
