Rights & Democracy launches new online Olympic Journal on human rights

Rights & Democracy, August 05, 2008

http://www.dd-rd.ca/site/media/index.php?lang=en&subsection=news&id=2278

MONTREAL – August 5, 2008 – Tolerating human rights violations by Olympic host countries is no different from turning a blind eye to doping, says a new Rights & Democracy online journal focusing on the Olympics and human rights: olympicjournal.ca.

Canada ’s International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development (Rights & Democracy) was created by an act of Parliament 20 years ago to help close the gap between international human rights obligations and actual practices. It calls on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to align itself with other prominent international institutions and consider adopting a human rights framework for its activities, based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

“As Canada prepares to host the 2010 Winter Olympics, we must remind everyone that hosting the Olympic Games is not only a privilege, it is a responsibility. The IOC and the host country have a responsibility to see that member countries respect their international human rights commitments” said Rémy M. Beauregard, the newly appointed President of Rights & Democracy (see his interview on CTV News).

Human rights are a central value of the Olympic Movement, on a par with the values of fair play and peaceful competition among nations. “Host nations and participating countries that profit from the prestige of the Olympics but do not abide by the tenets of Olympism and the human rights at its core are no different from those athletes caught using performance-enhancing drugs: both are a discredit to the ethical principles of the Olympic Movement and their participation tarnishes the reputation and integrity of the Games themselves,” says the online Olympic Journal’s introductory essay.

The short essay is the first in a series of eight that will be posted in English, Chinese and French over the course of the Beijing Summer Games, which run from August 8 to 24. Contributed by both Rights & Democracy staff and human rights defenders from China and the international community, the essays focus on the relationship between the Olympics and human rights and the many challenges China faces on this front. Featured contributors and topics include:

Zhang Lun, author, sociologist and activist, on China ’s human rights movement
Charles Burton, Brock University , on Chinese culture and human rights
Dimitri Vitaliev, digital rights activist, on outsmarting China ’s internet police
André LaLiberté, University of Ottawa , on religious freedom in China
Valerie Nichols, University of Hong Kong , on China ’s environmental movement.

In the spirit of Rights & Democracy’s mandate to encourage a public discussion of international human rights within Canada and globally, the blog invites readers aged 18-30 to contribute a 300-word essay on the relationship between the Olympics and human rights. The winning essay will be rewarded with a $500 scholarship if the winner is a student, or $300 for non-students.