IOC Levels Provisional Sanctions Against The National Olympic Committee Of Belarus

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) adopted a number of provisional measures against the National Olympic Committee of Belarus today. 
 

The measures stem from an investigation process opened on November 25, after concerns were raised from various groups that the National Olympic Committee (NOC) of Belarus was engaging in discrimination against athletes for political reasons. 
 

After reviewing the allegations received, and the responses provided by the NOC of Belarus; the IOC came to the conclusion that the current NOC leadership had not appropriately protected Belarusian athletes from political discrimination within the NOC, their member sports federations, or the broader sports movement.
 

According to the IOC, this conduct is contrary to the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter, and has a serious affects on the reputation of the Olympic Movement. 
 

Building on that conclusion, the IOC Executive Board decided to level the following provisional measures against the NOC of Belarus until further notice:

1. Exclude the currently elected members of the Executive Board of the NOC of Belarus from all IOC events and activities, including the Olympic Games. This includes in particular Mr Alexander Lukashenko, in his capacity as NOC President and legal representative of the NOC; Mr Viktor Lukashenko, in his capacity as NOC First Vice-President and the person responsible for the NOC’s operations and activities on a daily basis; and Mr Dmitry Baskov, in his capacity as an NOC Executive Board member and in view of the specific allegations raised against him.
 

2. Suspend all financial payments to the NOC of Belarus, with the exception of payments related to the preparations of the Belarusian athletes for, and their participation in, the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022. All Olympic scholarships for Belarusian athletes will now be paid directly to the athletes, and no longer through the NOC.

3. Request the relevant International Federations to make sure that all eligible Belarusian athletes can take part in qualification events for the upcoming Olympic Games without any political discrimination.

4. Suspend any discussions with the NOC of Belarus regarding the hosting of future IOC events.

5. Request all constituents of the Olympic Movement to respect these measures in the interest of protecting Belarusian athletes’ rights and the reputation of the Olympic Movement.

The IOC Executive Board vowed to continue to monitor the situation and reserved the right to consider any further measures or sanctions, or to remove any of the provisional measures depending on the evolution of the situation.