Swiss perspectives in 10 languages

IOC responds to Swiss demand for exclusion of Russian officials

Ukrainian flag and other flags
The flag of Ukraine is displayed on March 2 amid flags from other nations in the Paralympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympic Games Olympic Information Services/ioc

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has justified the non-exclusion of Russian and Belarusian officials, saying IOC members are elected as individuals by the IOC and, according to the Olympic Charter, do not represent their country in the body.

The Lausanne-based IOC was speaking to the Swiss News Agency Keystone-SDA on Monday in response to Swiss demands that officials from those two countries be banned from top positions in international sports federations.

The IOC added that currently there are no IOC meetings in which Russian members participate.

On Thursday Swiss Sports Minister Viola Amherd sent a letter to IOC President Thomas Bach, saying that in view of the situation in Ukraine it was no longer sufficient to exclude only athletes from the two countries from competitions abroad.

More

In March a group of around 30 countries, including Switzerland, issued a declaration calling for effective measures to be taken by international sports federations against Russia and Belarus.

On Saturday Christoph Lauener, head of communications at the Swiss Federal Office of Sport said Switzerland had taken a clear position with the statement. However, the international sports federations are organised under private law. The IOC has much more effective means than the state and can exclude the federations from the Olympic family if necessary, he added.

On Wednesday Matthias Remund, director of the Federal Office of Sport, emphasised that further steps were needed. Switzerland, as the home country of numerous international sports federations, now expected a strong signal from sport, he said. Swiss Olympic also supports the government’s position.

More

In its response on Monday, the IOC said it intended to continue to “denounce individuals and organisations who are responsible for this war and who violate the Olympic peace”.

It said it was monitoring the situation closely and reserved the right to adjust measures depending on further developments.

External Content

Most Read
Swiss Abroad

Most Discussed

News

Precious metals stolen from watch supplier in Le Locle

More

Thieves steal precious metals from Swiss watchmaker

This content was published on Thieves raided the factory of the Swiss watch supplier Werthanor in Le Locle in northeastern Switzerland on Thursday morning. They fled across the border to France with precious metals.

Read more: Thieves steal precious metals from Swiss watchmaker
FOPH reports a drop in influenza cases

More

Flu cases decline in Switzerland

This content was published on The flu epidemic in Switzerland is easing. The number of reported cases fell last week, according to the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH). But the wave may not yet have reached its peak.

Read more: Flu cases decline in Switzerland

In compliance with the JTI standards

More: SWI swissinfo.ch certified by the Journalism Trust Initiative

You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!

If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR

SWI swissinfo.ch - a branch of Swiss Broadcasting Corporation SRG SSR