On the occasion of Kirsty Coventry’s inauguration as the new IOC President, the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP) calls on the powerful sports federation to break with its approach of remaining silent on human rights issues while intensifying partnerships with dictatorial regimes such as China or Russia. Kirsty Coventry is the first woman and the first person from Africa to be elected for this position.

“We are calling on Kirsty Coventry to use her term in office to speak out if there are serious human rights violations in the countries hosting the Olympic Games. The marketing of sports events and lucrative television contracts must not be more important than commitment for the dignity of every single human being,” demanded Hanno Schedler, STP expert on genocide prevention and the Responsibility to Protect.  

“For most of its 131-year history, the IOC put a lot of effort into perpetuating the myth that sports and politics should be viewed separately – while Thomas Bach, during his time in office, became best friends with dictators and maintained close relationships with Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin. We hope that Kirsty Coventry will take the IOC’s commitments more seriously,” Schedler stated in Göttingen today. The human rights organization is calling on the new IOC President to publicly comment on the execution of journalist Turki al-Jasser in Saudi Arabia. A few days ago, the government of Saudi-Arabia – which will be hosting the first E-Sports Olympics in 2027 – had ordered journalist al-Jasser to be executed. Before, Al-Jasser had served seven years in prison after reporting on corruption in the Saudi royal family.

“As a member of the UN, the IOC is bound by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 and must show commitment to uphold these rights. Remaining silent on human rights violations cannot be reconciled with the values of the Universal Declaration, regardless of whether it is about Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, the separation of Uyghur and Tibetan children from their parents by the Chinese government, or about the execution of critical journalists,” Schedler emphasized. The IOC is registered as a non-governmental organization in Switzerland and is a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

However, according to the human rights organization, Coventry’s few statements on the subject of human rights offer little hope for a change in values ​​at the IOC. In an interview with the Chinese state media Xinhua, Coventry pointed out that the IOC was planning to build closer connections between sports fans and the sponsors of the games – and, furthermore, emphasized that the IOC should remain politically neutral.