1-12
Should Russian & Belarussian athletes be banned from the #Olympics?
This article lays out key facts & historical background behind such bans, including some arguments I provided to the author on why a ban is justified, legally and politically.
rferl.org/a/russia-belar…
Should Russian & Belarussian athletes be banned from the #Olympics?
This article lays out key facts & historical background behind such bans, including some arguments I provided to the author on why a ban is justified, legally and politically.
rferl.org/a/russia-belar…
2-12
The legal debate on the issue is coming to a head, with a UN Rapporteur for cultural rights - a quixotic law professor - arguing that such a ban would be "discrimination on the basis on nationality".
Those public pronouncements are false.
The legal debate on the issue is coming to a head, with a UN Rapporteur for cultural rights - a quixotic law professor - arguing that such a ban would be "discrimination on the basis on nationality".
Those public pronouncements are false.
3-12
The international conventions cited by the UN Rapporteur do not mention discrimination on account of nationality (=citizenship), but on account of "race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin".
The international conventions cited by the UN Rapporteur do not mention discrimination on account of nationality (=citizenship), but on account of "race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin".
4-12
=> it's racism / xenophobia that international conventions seek to oppose, but that doesn't rule out banning a national team from an international sports event.
How do we know that?
Because there is precedent. National teams have been banned before.
=> it's racism / xenophobia that international conventions seek to oppose, but that doesn't rule out banning a national team from an international sports event.
How do we know that?
Because there is precedent. National teams have been banned before.
5-12
South Africa was banned from most of international sports for many years during the apartheid era.
Also, "Afghanistan and all its athletes were banned from the 2000 Sydney Olympics due to the ban on female athletes instituted by the Taliban"
South Africa was banned from most of international sports for many years during the apartheid era.
Also, "Afghanistan and all its athletes were banned from the 2000 Sydney Olympics due to the ban on female athletes instituted by the Taliban"
6-12
So, there is historical and therefore legal precedent for banning a national team from the Olympics. Including a very recent one.
The line that such a ban would be illegal because it would be discrimination based on nationality is proven to be false.
So, there is historical and therefore legal precedent for banning a national team from the Olympics. Including a very recent one.
The line that such a ban would be illegal because it would be discrimination based on nationality is proven to be false.
7-12
What about those forms of discrimination that actually are illegal, as opposed to the form falsely invented by the UN Rapporteur?
An illegal ban would be one based on Russian ethnicity, rather than on Russian citizenship. But that is of course not what anyone is proposing.
What about those forms of discrimination that actually are illegal, as opposed to the form falsely invented by the UN Rapporteur?
An illegal ban would be one based on Russian ethnicity, rather than on Russian citizenship. But that is of course not what anyone is proposing.
8-12
Another angle of discussion is historical bans against nations currently or recently guilty of wars of aggression - including Germany after both World Wars.
Another angle of discussion is historical bans against nations currently or recently guilty of wars of aggression - including Germany after both World Wars.
9-12
Reactions were milder in the face of Soviet uses of military force to keep Moscow's stranglehold on its satellite states during the Cold War.
Reactions were milder in the face of Soviet uses of military force to keep Moscow's stranglehold on its satellite states during the Cold War.
10-12
With Moscow now also clearly guilty of crimes against humanity, comparisons with 1956 or 1968 fade in relevance - and the choice made for the 1948 Olympics - a full ban - seems more relevant.
state.gov/crimes-against…
With Moscow now also clearly guilty of crimes against humanity, comparisons with 1956 or 1968 fade in relevance - and the choice made for the 1948 Olympics - a full ban - seems more relevant.
state.gov/crimes-against…
11-12
Another way to conceive of such bans - since the "discrimination" angle makes no sense legally or historically - is to think of them as international sanctions against a pariah state.
Another way to conceive of such bans - since the "discrimination" angle makes no sense legally or historically - is to think of them as international sanctions against a pariah state.
12-12
There are plenty of types of sanctions, for example ones that target a nation's economy in a manner that is indiscriminate - and yet that is legal and has multiple precedents. Being able to use sanctions to punish a criminal state by shaking up its society is essential.
There are plenty of types of sanctions, for example ones that target a nation's economy in a manner that is indiscriminate - and yet that is legal and has multiple precedents. Being able to use sanctions to punish a criminal state by shaking up its society is essential.
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