Int.Olympic Committee Revises non-discrimination Charter to include Sexual Orientation
REED SAXON/ASSOCIATED PRESS
The International Olympic Committee unanimously approved a revision of its non-discrimination policy Monday to include sexual orientation, a step sparked by Russian lawmakers' passage of laws before the Sochi games that banned "gay propaganda."
The language will also be included in contracts between the IOC and future host cities. The IOC notified prospective bidders for the 2022 winter games of the change to Principle 6 of the Olympic charter, which already barred discrimination based on race, religion, gender and other factors.
Activists said Russia's laws encourage homophobic attacks on Russia's gay population and criticized the IOC and corporate sponsors for not doing more to force Russia to repeal the legislation. More than 50 current and former Olympians - including tennis great Martina Navratilova and gold medal diver Greg Louganis — joined the “Principle Six Campaign” — to protest the laws.
LGBT rights advocates called for the U.S. to boycott the Sochi games in response to Russia’s controversial “gay propaganda” legislation.
“This is a pivotal moment for equality in sport,” said Andre Banks, executive director and co-founder of All Out, a gay rights organization
The IOC’s new policy could face a big test in 2022, since gays and lesbians face discrimination and harassment in both finalists, Beijing, China and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
The IOC’s anti-gay policy, meanwhile, also places pressure on FIFA. The 2018 World Cup will be held in Russia, while the 2022 World Cup will be held in Qatar, which has refused to say if gay athletes will even be allowed in the country to participate in the tournament.
In addition to the revision of the non-discrimination policy, the IOC also unanimously approved a reform package that will make bidding for the games less expensive and give hosts greater flexibility to stage the games. The IOC abolished the cap of 28 sports for the Summer Games to move to an "events-based" system that would allow new competitions to come in, while keeping to about 10,500 athletes and 310 medal events.
The reforms - IOC president Thomas Bach's 40-point "Olympic Agenda 2020" - mark the biggest changes in the IOC in decades.
The new bidding process is a response to concerns about the exorbitant costs of hosting the Olympics. The new system allows prospective candidates to discuss their plans in advance with the IOC to tailor games to their own venues and. Cities will be allowed to hold events outside the host city or country, which opens the door to joint bids by cities, neighboring countries or regions.
IOC vice president John Coates said holding events outside the host country would only be considered in "exceptional circumstances." He said the idea would have to be raised in the early phase of bidding and would need approval from the IOC executive board.
"The compactness of the bid is always important," Coates said. "But the compactness of the games has to be weighed up with the cost benefit of being able to use existing venues rather than build new venues."
Host cities will also be allowed to propose the inclusion of one or more additional events for their games, which will allow Tokyo organizers to request that baseball and softball be included in the 2020 Games. Both sports were ropped after the 2008 Beijing Games.
The IOC also abolished the cap of 28 sports for the Summer Games to move to an "events-based" system that would allow new competitions to come in, while keeping to about 10,500 athletes and 310 medal events.
The IOC also agreed to work with international federations to have a greater number of women participate in the games. The IOC hopes to achieve 50 percent female participation in the Olympics and will and encourage mixed-gender team events.
The IOC also approved the launch of a digital network to promote Olympic sports between the games and engage with young viewers.
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