Q&A regarding the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions

Participation in the Olympic Games is by no means a human right and the recent amendment of the Olympic Charter is not related to it.

The strict conditions the IOC has set out in its recommendations to the IFs for the participation of Individual Neutral Athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions are compliant with the Olympic Charter. They are a reaction to the breach of the Olympic Charter by the Russian and Belarusian governments.

We firmly reject the accusations being made that these measures constitute “ethnic discrimination”.

The IOC takes note of the decisions of the IPC, which are in line with the recommendations of the IOC to International Federations and Sport Event Organisers. The IOC is encouraged by the many International Federations that have already organised international sports events, and even world championships, successfully applying our recommendations. We are seeing that the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions is widely accepted by the athletes’ community.

We are here to support the athletes of the entire world to make their Olympic dreams come true. We continue to promote the participation of every athlete who accepts the rules, respects the Olympic Charter and has qualified on the field of play. The recommendations of the IOC make clear that:

• Athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport must compete only as Individual Neutral Athletes.
• Teams of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport cannot be considered.
• Athletes who actively support the war cannot compete. Support personnel who actively support the war cannot be entered.
• Athletes who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot compete. Support personnel who are contracted to the Russian or Belarusian military or national security agencies cannot be entered.

The IOC has condemned the war from the start. We imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian governments. We have established a Solidarity Fund for Ukraine so that the athletes have support to overcome the tremendous challenges they are facing to make their Olympic dreams come true. Some 3,000 athletes have already benefitted from the help the IOC Solidarity Fund is offering. These efforts take the form not just of financial aid, but also logistical support to make it possible for Ukrainian athletes to continue to take part in competitions by providing travel support, training facilities, accommodation, equipment and uniforms, amongst other things. The IOC wants to enable the participation of a strong Ukrainian team at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The IOC continues to stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and the Olympic community of Ukraine.

This decision by the Ukrainian government will allow Ukrainian athletes to participate in international competitions and will enable them to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. We are glad that they will be given this opportunity, and at the same time we are aware of the difficult inner conflicts they may have, given the aggression against their country. Therefore, we encourage International Federations to handle situations involving Ukrainian and Individual Neutral Athletes with the necessary degree of sensitivity. We continue to stand in full solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes and the Olympic community of Ukraine.

The IOC has received a lot of support. It is very encouraged by the fact that the vast majority of the international community understands the challenging situation for sport and supports its values-based course of action. This has been expressed by many statements from political leaders at the level of the United Nations, intergovernmental organisations and heads of state and government.

In May 2023, the Group of Seven (G7) Leaders’ expressed support in a statement at their summit in Hiroshima/Japan. Early in July 2023, the Non-Aligned Movement, chaired by Azerbaijan, which includes 120 of the 193 UN Member States, also declared its support and in September 2023 the G20 Leaders expressed their support.

The G7 statement says that the G7 are “fully respecting the autonomy of sporting organizations” and want to ensure that “Russian and Belarusian athletes are in no way appearing as representatives of their states”. This is fully aligned with the position of the IOC in this respect.

The IOC warmly welcomed the G7 support for the autonomy of sport and for the IOC’s recommendations on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport, only as individual, neutral athletes. This commitment to the autonomy of sports organisations comes at a crucial time, when it is threatened by a few governments. Therefore, the IOC is very grateful to the G7 Leaders for their unequivocal statement.

The G7 Summit is an international forum held annually for the leaders of the G7 member states of France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada (in order of rotating presidency), and the European Union (EU).

On 7 July, the IOC welcomed a Declaration by the Non-Aligned Movement which includes 120 of the 193 UN Member States. The Declaration, which was passed unanimously, emphasises that “the participation of athletes from all 206 National Olympic Committees in Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games would be a strong symbol of unity of humanity.” In this respect, it expresses its “support to the efforts and initiatives undertaken by the International Olympic Committee to this end”.

This position is also fully aligned with the IOC recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions, including qualifiers for the Olympic Games.

The IOC warmly welcomed the support by the 120 member states of the Non-Aligned Movement. It is greatly encouraged by this strong commitment to the unifying mission of the Olympic Games.

Read the full statement of the Non-Aligned Movement here.

In September 2023, the G20 New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration said: “We reiterate our commitment to the G20 as the premier forum for global economic cooperation and its continued operation in the spirit of multilateralism, on the basis of consensus, with all members participating on an equal footing in all its events including Summits.”

It continued: “We also look forward to the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2024 as a symbol of peace, dialogue amongst nations and inclusivity, with participation of all.”

IOC President Thomas Bach welcomed the statement. He said in Lausanne: “We would like to thank very warmly the G20 Leaders, who include for the first time the African Union, for their invaluable support. The IOC will continue to work with full commitment to achieve these goals, which are also our goals.”

The IOC has also taken note of the negative reactions, in particular from some European governments.

It is deplorable to see that some governments do not want to respect the majority within the Olympic Movement or the autonomy of sport which they are requesting from other countries, and are praising in countless speeches and UN and European Union resolutions.

It is deplorable that these governments do not address the question of double standards with which we were confronted in the consultation calls.

We have not seen a single comment from them about their attitude towards the participation of athletes whose countries are involved in the other 70 wars, armed conflicts and crises in the world.

It is even more deplorable that they grossly neglect the very clear statement of the two Special Rapporteurs from the UN Human Rights Council, while in other issues they are always highlighting their firm requests for the respect of human rights.

As stated by the UN Special Rapporteur: “The idea is not that we are going to recognise human rights to people who are like us and with whom we agree on their actions and on their behaviour. The idea is that anyone has the right not to be discriminated against on the basis of their passport.”

Read the detailed explanation of the position of the UN Special Rapporteur here.

Discussions and reactions from the Olympic Movement are making it very clear that these governmental and political interventions have even strengthened the unity of the Olympic Movement.

All stakeholders made it very clear again: it cannot be up to the governments to decide which athlete can take part in which competitions. This would be the end of international sport as we know it. All the Olympic Movement stakeholders are very concerned about this. The IOC has received a letter signed by the Presidents of all five Continental Associations of NOCs, representing all 206 NOCs, welcoming the IOC recommendations in defence of the autonomy of sport which ensures that “international sports competitions welcome athletes from all countries”.

ASOIF, representing the 33 Summer Olympic International Federations “emphasised the necessity to prevent public authorities’ influence in sport matters”.

The Athletes’ Commissions from Asia and Africa welcomed the recommendations too, and some even wanted the IOC to go further. The situation of athletes from countries and regions affected by the too many wars and conflicts around the world was also raised during the International Athletes’ Forum in October 2023 in Lausanne. It was attended by Athletes’ Commissions members from 181 NOCs, 54 IFs, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), Organising Committees for the upcoming Olympic Games (OCOGs) and Continental Associations, as well as members of the Athletes’ Declaration Steering Committee and representatives from the World Olympians Association (WOA).

The IOC has of course also seen the reactions from Russia, where the ROC says that: “the parameters and criteria announced for the return of Russians to international competitions are absolutely unacceptable”, and that the “decisions of the IOC Executive Board are nothing more than a farce (…) which grossly violates basic principles of the Olympic Charter and the UN Charter.”

In Russia, even before the publication of the recommendations, the IOC was already called “agents of the United States of America”.

Ukrainian representatives called the IOC recommendations unacceptable, and the IOC is portrayed as “siding with the Russians”, whose invasion the IOC has strongly condemned from the very beginning.

The IOC is also supporting the Ukrainian athletes and the Ukrainian Olympic Community in an unprecedented way, and this support continues to grow.

The fact that both sides in this confrontation are not satisfied might indicate that the IOC has found some middle ground on which all sides can move forward to make a contribution to understanding and peace.

The entire Olympic Movement strongly stands by its values to unite the world in peaceful competition.

The IOC is here to support the athletes of the entire world to make their Olympic dream come true. The IOC continues to promote the participation of every athlete who accepts the rules, respects the Olympic Charter and has qualified on the field of play.

And yet, despite offering a workable pathway forward with the IOC’s values-based recommendations, we are still confronted with two irreconcilable positions. The Russian side wants the IOC to ignore the war. The Ukrainian side wants the IOC to totally isolate anyone with a Russian and Belarusian passport. Both positions are diametrically opposed to the IOC’s mission and the Olympic Charter.

The IOC navigates such an intractable situation through its values, which are its compass. This is why the IOC’s athlete-centred recommendations address its core values of peace, unity, solidarity and non-discrimination.

It is not an easy solution. But extremely complex political problems do not have easy solutions. Only populists pretend to have simplistic solutions for the most complex problems in the world.

The IOC’s position is clear: We condemned the war from the first day. We imposed unprecedented sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian governments.

As a global organisation, the IOC has to manage a complex reality. The world is not black or white. We are confronted with a cacophony of views and competing interests that are trying to pull us in different directions.

While 141 countries have, like the IOC, condemned the war, the international community is not as united when it comes to consequences of this condemnation. The IOC has learnt that 52 governments, representing only 15 per cent of the world population, have, like the IOC, imposed sanctions on the Russian and Belarusian governments. This is not to say that one side is right and the other is wrong. This is just to describe the reality of a divided and fragmented world.

While the IOC sees very encouraging signs that, overall, its values-based approach is working, the different interests are still trying to pull it in different directions.

There is the Russian side, which considers the strict conditions to be unacceptable, humiliating and discriminatory. The Russian government accuses the IOC of acting against its political neutrality, while at the same time this very same government is shamelessly trying to put together fully politicised sports competitions.

There is the Ukrainian side, which denounces the IOC for siding with Russia. Its government insists on the “total isolation” of all Russians and Belarusians, because it considers everyone with a Russian or Belarusian passport to be a supporter of the war. This even goes as far as banning athletes with intellectual disabilities from taking part in the recent Special Olympics.

The vast majority of the Olympic Movement stakeholders from across the globe – the athletes, the National Olympic Committees from all five continents, the continental associations and the International Federations: this overwhelming majority is calling on the IOC to continue with its athlete-centred approach to find a pathway – a values-based course of action – that defends the rights of all athletes.

In this time when our autonomy is being undermined by some governments; in this time when some forces want to divide the global sports movement; in these challenging times, this unity is fundamental for the future of values-based truly global sport.

If these divisive political forces were to succeed in their efforts to decide which athlete can compete in which competition, then we will end up with sports competitions only among athletes from like-minded political blocs. The Games of Political Bloc A. The Games of Political Bloc B. And probably separate Games for those countries which do not want to align themselves in one way or another.

In such politicised sport, universal Olympic Games will no longer be possible and World Championships, in the true sense of the term, will no longer be possible. This politicisation would be the weaponisation of sport. This goes against everything sport and the Olympic Movement stand for.

Recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions

The overwhelming majority of the world’s athletes respect or support the IOC’s approach. The IOC is encouraged by the many IFs that have organised international sports events and even world championships successfully applying our recommendations.

At the European level, the Individual European Fencing Championships took place in Bulgaria in June. The International Fencing Federation had moved these championships from Poland to Bulgaria because the Polish government had interfered in the autonomy of sport by refusing to issue visas for individual neutral athletes with Russian or Belarusian passports. This necessary relocation to protect the autonomy of sport proved to be successful. In Bulgaria, individual neutral athletes were able to participate. At the same time, it is important to note that Ukrainian athletes participated in the championships as well. However, the Ukrainian athletes were allowed to compete only in those disciplines in which individual neutral athletes did not participate.

At the global level, the World Judo Championships took place in Qatar with the participation of individual neutral athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport. These Championships were very successfully organised.

The World Taekwondo Championships held in Azerbaijan are another example of successful world championships organised with the participation of individual neutral athletes. There was even a record number of national federations taking part.

The IOC is also pleased by the success of the inaugural Olympic Esports Week that took place in Singapore, where the IOC recommendations were strictly applied, which enabled players from Ukraine and players with a Russian passport to compete peacefully together.

Contrary to what the naysayers were predicting, none of these competitions collapsed in chaos. All the respective IFs applied our recommendations and strict conditions. In the process, they rejected a number of applicants who wanted to compete as individual neutral athletes because they did not fulfil these strict conditions.

All the championships took place without incident. The athletes competed with respect for each other and with respect for the rules of sport. Through statements and in conversations, the athletes made it clear that they want to compete against the best athletes of the world, no matter where they come from. They want to feel like true world or European champions. They do not want to see any athlete being punished for the actions of their government.

Many of them would like to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. In order to qualify, they would need to compete internationally now. Yet, at the judo and taekwondo world championships the Ukrainian athletes were absent, because they had not been allowed to participate, following the instructions of the Ukrainian sports ministry. In other words, Ukrainian athletes are being sanctioned by their own government for the war that has been started by the Russian and Belarusian governments.

It is hard to understand why the Ukrainian government is depriving its own athletes of their chance to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and to make the Ukrainian people proud. It is hard to understand why Ukrainian athletes are allowed to compete in tennis but not in table tennis. It is hard to understand why they are allowed to compete in cycling but not in swimming. It is hard to understand why in fencing, a Ukrainian athlete can compete in discipline A, while his teammate cannot compete in discipline B.

In this context, we recall the statement of the Ukrainian Tennis Federation from March 2023, in which it said: “With this appeal, we express a common position regarding the possible decision of the NOC on a complete boycott by the players of all international tournaments where Russians or Belarusians play. Such a decision will lead to the destruction of Ukrainian tennis, because players from these countries take part in almost every competition, and will become a sanction not against the Russians, but against the Ukrainians. If Russians and Belarusians are allowed to compete, you need to play with them and win, and not avoid the battle.”

This is what the entire Olympic community and in fact the entire world are longing for: Ukrainian athletes shining brightly in international competitions. We all want them to have the opportunity to qualify for the Olympic Games Paris 2024. This means participating now in the qualification events, so that they can make the Ukrainian people proud – showing the resilience of the Ukrainian people and the Ukrainian Olympic community.

The IOC wants to give them this opportunity to qualify and finally participate in the Olympic Games. Therefore, through the respective International Federations, the IOC will support every Ukrainian athlete in their preparation and participation in any competition that they want to take part in. Athletes who want to compete but would lose the support of their National Sports Federation and their National Olympic Committee because of government interference, can count on the direct support of the Olympic Movement’s Solidarity Fund for the Olympic community of Ukraine and the IOC’s athlete support programmes.

In order to avoid having different standards for the athletes, the national officials and the IOC Members in Russia, the same conditions to participate in the IOC’s international events will apply.

The IOC Ethics Commission has noted that two of the conditions mentioned in the IOC Executive Board’s recommendations will apply to the IOC Members:

1. their active support for the war; and
2. their contractual situation vis-à-vis the Russian military or national security agencies.

The situation of the IOC Members concerned will be assessed from the time of the invasion on 24 February 2022 and subsequently. Considering the second point, the past contractual situation of the Members before the beginning of the war will not be taken into consideration.

This process has been completed for all IOC Members in Russia. With the result that the IOC Ethics Commission stated that they are in compliance with the conditions as set out by the IOC EB on 28 March 2023.

The current IOC recommendations for International Federations and international sports event organisers on the participation of athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport in international competitions do not concern the participation of athletes and their support personnel with a Russian or Belarusian passport at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 or the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The IOC will take this decision at the appropriate time, at its full discretion, and without being bound by the results of previous Olympic qualification competitions.

The invitations to the 203 eligible NOCs were sent on 26 July 2023. For the reasons given, this excluded the NOCs of Russia and Belarus, plus the NOC of Guatemala, which is currently suspended.

The IOC EB took protective measures immediately at the time, with a heavy heart and expressing the dilemma it faced. It was against the mission of the Olympic Games that the IOC had to recommend not to invite athletes with a Russian or Belarusian passport because of government interference as governments were starting to decide who can take part in which competition. Some of the governments threatened to withdraw funding if athletes would participate in a certain competition. And this the IOC could not allow, because this is against every principle of the international sports system, which must be based on sport and not on political decisions about who can participate.

There was also the possibility of security risks for Russian or Belarusian athletes participating in competitions due to the very emotional situation in a number of countries.

These were the two reasons for the protective measures; to ensure the security and integrity of competitions and to ensure that qualification to take part in an international competition was based on sporting merit and not on political decisions such as denial of visas or threatening of athletes, National Federations or National Olympic Committees (NOCs).

Firstly, the most important thing that has changed since February 2022 is that participation of neutral athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in competitions and international competitions has already been implemented and works. This is happening almost every day in a number of sports. It is most prominently evident in tennis, but also in cycling, table tennis , ice hockey, handball, football and in other leagues in the United States, in Europe and elsewhere on other continents. There have been no security incidents in any of those competitions, or none that the IOC is aware of.

Moreover, the governments on whose territory the competitions are taking place are issuing visas with very few exceptions. In other countries they are even issuing working permits where it is necessary, for these players and athletes.

Second, the other major thing that changed was the letter the IOC received from two Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations Human Rights Council, who advised that a blanket ban on Russian and Belarusian athletes would be discriminatory and a flagrant violation of human rights.

One of these two Special Rapporteurs joined the consultation calls that were held with the Olympic Movement stakeholders since December 2022. While the Olympic Movement stakeholders also heard the arguments of another legal scholar with a different legal opinion, the Special Rapporteur – who has been appointed by the UN precisely to give such explanations and advice, and to express such concerns – said: “It is a flagrant violation of human rights. The idea is not that we are going to recognise human rights of people who are like us and with whom we agree on their actions and on their behaviour. The idea is that anyone, anyone has the right not to be discriminated on the basis of their passport.”

“We have to start from agreeing that these states are going to be excluded. The issue is what happens with individuals. It is not a grey area of international law. It is something that binds all states and all individuals. It is actually so important that we call it peremptory norm of international law for this reason, because the blanket prohibition of Russian and fellow Russian athletes and artists cannot continue.”

Legal disputes can occur on any topic, but the Olympic Movement has to rely on these authorities to give interpretations on issues such as human rights.

And this is about the UN Declaration of Human Rights. This is about the UN guiding principles, and the IOC must rely on these Special Rapporteurs. The IOC is not a world court of human rights who can then, with its own authority, take a decision about any legal scholar in this world that is articulating on this very particular issue.

It is about the UN human rights system. And therefore, for the Olympic Movement, these UN Special Rapporteurs must be our guides in these efforts. It is worthwhile recalling some of the comments she made, because she is directly addressing these concerns, which had also been mentioned by legal scholars.

She said that this is an illegal war – the IOC agrees. She went on: “The specific obligations of states continue to exist, and the prohibition of direct discrimination is one of the most important values of the human rights system.” The IOC has to make sure that it focuses on states. She said: “I think it is absolutely perfect that the IOC and other areas as well have excluded the Russian Federation and Belarus states.”

Read the detailed explanation of the position of the UN Special Rapporteur here.

There is no other option, given how international sport is structured and run. The international competition outside the Olympic Games are under the sole, autonomous authority of the International Federations, who decide on the rules of these competitions and the eligibility of the athletes taking part in these decisions.

The Special Rapporteur spoke with the athletes’ representatives in their call on 24 March 2023. She also addressed the IOC Members, NOCs and IFs in their consultation calls. In her remarks she considered the legal arguments provided by the NOCs of Ukraine and Germany. Please find here the transcript of the introduction to her remarks.

As stated in the recommended conditions of participation document, only those Individual Neutral Athletes and support personnel who have not acted against the peace mission of the Olympic Movement by actively supporting the war in Ukraine may be invited to participate in international sports competitions.

The definition of team sports or team events follows the respective IF regulations.

Some qualification events in several sports have already taken place. The IOC will not ask IFs to adapt their qualification systems retroactively to allocate additional quota to athletes with a Russian or Belarussian passport that have missed out on qualification opportunities due to the war.

These recommendations to the International Federations (IFs) were issued by the IOC on 28 March 2023, following a request by the 11^th Olympic Summit on 9 December 2022, which brought together the leaders of the stakeholder groups of the Olympic Movement.

As said in the recommendations: “The sanctions against those responsible for the war, the Russian and Belarusian states and governments, must remain in place, including that no Russian and Belarusian government or state official can be invited to or accredited for any international sports event or meeting.” This is self-explanatory with regard to government officials.

Carrying out its mission to unite the world in sporting competition and following the Olympic Charter does not make the IOC complicit with Russia. It is possible to stand in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian Olympic community without agreeing to everything they are calling for. Just a few hours after the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which was supported by Belarus, the IOC was one of the first international organisations to strongly condemn the invasion. In contrast to most other global organisations, it also sanctioned the states and governments responsible.

The IOC rejects in the strongest possible terms defamatory statements of this kind made by some Ukrainian officials. They are totally unacceptable and cannot serve as a basis for any constructive discussion.

The IOC is one of very few, if any, global organisations which issued sanctions. Currently, there are no UN sanctions in place against Russia or Belarus. There is no sanction from the World Trade Organization, the World Health Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, etc. We made our position very clear, in not only condemning the war but also sanctioning the Russian and Belarusian states.

The IOC is deeply saddened to hear of the death of members of the Olympic Community in Ukraine who have lost their lives in this war. The IOC extends its most sincere condolences to their families and friends and the Ukrainian people.

The IOC took a very strong stance against the war, strongly condemning it, issuing sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian States and Governments hours after it started on 24 February 2022. The IOC firmly stands with this crystal clear position. And this position is guided by the solidarity with the Olympic Community of Ukraine, which the Olympic Movement has supported since the very beginning of the war and will continue to do so.

24 February 2023 marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine with the support of Belarus: one year of brutal warfare, human suffering, killing and destruction. We feel deeply for the Ukrainian people during this cruel war, whose pain and suffering are beyond imagination. On this grim anniversary, the Olympic Movement joins calls for peace and stands ready to make its modest contribution to any peace-building efforts.

The IOC condemned the senseless war in the strongest terms on the day of the invasion. With no end in sight to the fighting after one year of bloodshed, the IOC reiterates its condemnation of the war in Ukraine, which is a blatant violation of the Olympic Truce that was in effect at the time, and the Olympic Charter. For this reason, the IOC sanctioned the Russian and Belarusian states and governments, who are solely responsible for this war, in an unprecedented way: no international sports events organised in Russia and Belarus; no flag, anthems or other national symbols whatsoever displayed; and no government or state officials accredited for any international sports events.

These sanctions were put in place in February 2022 and were then reinforced, further strengthened and confirmed by the recent Olympic Summit on 9 December 2022. They remain firmly in place.

At the same time, the IOC reaffirms its unwavering solidarity with the Ukrainian athletes, who have faced unspeakable hardship day after day. With the war now raging for over a year, the entire Olympic Movement remains steadfast in its commitment to help the Ukrainian athletes in every way possible, because we all want to see a strong team from the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine at the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. To this end, the IOC has tripled its Solidarity Fund for Ukraine so that the athletes have every support to overcome the tremendous challenges they are facing to make their Olympic dream come true. Some 3,000 athletes have already benefitted from the help the IOC Solidarity Fund is offering through the NOC of Ukraine. These efforts take the form not just of financial aid, but also logistical support and ensuring that Ukrainian athletes can continue to take part in competitions by providing travel support, training facilities, accommodation, equipment and uniforms, amongst other things.

From the very beginning, starting with the ancient Olympic Games, our mission has always been to promote peace through sport. The IOC remains committed to this mission to unite the entire world in peaceful competition to this day. The most recent examples of such peaceful competition include athletes from South and North Korea, from Israel and Palestine, from Armenia and Azerbaijan and many others. During the Olympic Games, athletes from 206 different National Olympic Committees live together in peace in the Olympic Village. Peace-building efforts need dialogue. A competition with athletes who respect the Olympic Charter can serve as a catalyst for dialogue, which is always a first step to achieving peace.

The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars and conflicts. Nor can they address all the political and social challenges in our world. This is the realm of politics. But the Olympic Games can set an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and one another. They can inspire us to solve problems by building bridges, leading to better understanding among people. They can open the door to dialogue and peace-building in ways that exclusion and division do not.

The overwhelming majority of the Olympic Movement, including the athletes, National Olympic Committees and International Federations, support the unwavering solidarity with Ukraine, the sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus and the peace-building, unifying mission of the Olympic Movement.

United in this Olympic spirit, on this painful one-year mark, the entire Olympic Movement reiterates the call we made one year ago to all the political leaders of the world: “Give Peace a Chance.”

Rule 50.2 of the Olympic Charter and its Guidelines apply to all Olympic Games participants. As outlined in the applicable Guidelines, athlete expressions are not permitted in the following instances:

• During official ceremonies (including Olympic medal ceremonies, opening and closing ceremonies)

• During competition on the field of play

• In the Olympic Village

The participation of neutral athletes with Russian and Belarusian passports in competitions and international competitions has already been implemented. This is happening almost every day in a number of sports. It is most prominently evident in tennis, but also in cycling, table tennis, ice hockey, handball, football and in other leagues in the United States, in Europe and elsewhere on other continents.

We expect that all NOCs and their athletes participating at the Olympic Games will comply fully with the Olympic Charter.

Any Individual Neutral Athlete, like all the other participating athletes, must meet all anti-doping requirements applicable to them, particularly those set out in the anti-doping rules of the IFs. Each IF is responsible for the individual checks of any athlete prior to their participation in competitions under its authority.

It is recommended that IFs strongly consider including all Individual Neutral Athletes in their registered testing pool.

In addition, each IF should communicate details of its overall doping control programme to all participants, respecting confidentiality and personal data requirements, in order to ensure a level playing field and fair treatment for all athletes.

The President of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) informed the Olympic Summit last December that 31,112 anti-doping tests had been conducted in- and out-of-competition on Russian athletes between 1 January 2021 and December 2022. These tests have been coordinated by different entities under their respective authority, and all samples have been and continue to be analysed in WADA-accredited laboratories outside Russia. The programme continues.

In all its decisions, the IOC is following the Word Anti-Doping Code and the Olympic Charter, and is trying to uphold individual justice to the best possible extent in line with human rights principles.

With regard to the systemic doping scheme in Russia around the Olympic Winter Games Sochi 2014, the IOC issued the toughest sanction available by excluding the Russian Olympic Committee from participation at PyeongChang 2018, and imposing a USD 15 million fine.

The subsequent violations of the World Anti-Doping Code were under the sole authority of the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had to experience that its sanctions have been weakened by a judgement of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS). At the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022, both the IOC and WADA requested that the decision by the Disciplinary Anti-Doping Committee of RUSADA to lift the provisional suspension in respect of the then 15-year old Russian figure skater be set aside, but such requests were rejected by the CAS.

Given this history of doping in Russia, the IOC has in the ongoing discussion established strict anti-doping conditions for each individual athlete with a Russian or Belarusian passport who would want to compete as a neutral athlete.

In February 2022, the IOC and the Olympic Movement reacted immediately after Russia, supported by Belarus, started the war in Ukraine. The IOC issued three statements:

• 24 February 2022: IOC strongly condemns the breach of the Olympic Truce.

• 25 February 2022: IOC EB urges all International Federations to relocate or cancel their sports events currently planned in Russia or Belarus.

• 28 February 2022: IOC EB recommends no participation of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials.

Our actions were two-fold: sanctions on the one hand and protective measures on the other.

The IOC condemned the blatant violation of the Olympic Truce on the day of the invasion. The IOC sanctioned the Russian and Belarusian states and governments responsible for this war. At the same time, the IOC also had to take protective measures to ensure the integrity of international competitions and the security of athletes and officials, including that of Russian and Belarusian athletes.

The situation was that governments were deciding who could take part in international competitions in different ways. There were governments who prohibited athletes from their country to take part in any competition with Russian or Belarusian athletes. There were other governments who were threatening to withdraw funding from any athlete who would participate in such a competition. There were also governments who were putting public and political pressure on National Olympic Committees and national sports federations.

This situation put the IOC and the International Federations in an unsolvable dilemma. The IOC had to realise that its mission to unite the entire world in a peaceful competition could no longer be fulfilled. For this reason, the IOC had to recommend not to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials to take part in international competitions, or to at least prohibit any identification of their nationality.

These recommendations were welcomed and followed by the Olympic Movement.