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First The European Parliament, Now The British Parliament To Vote To Boycott Winter Olympics 2022

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On July 8, 2021, the European Parliament approved a resolution focused on addressing the deteriorating situation of human rights in Hong Kong, among others, it calls for diplomats to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics 2022. The non-binding resolution passed with the overwhelming support of 578 votes, from across the political spectrum. Just 29 votes were cast against, and 73 votes were abstained. The resolution calls on “the Commission, the Council and the Member States to decline invitations for government representatives and diplomats to attend the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics unless the Chinese Government demonstrates a verifiable improvement in the human rights situation in Hong Kong, the Xinjiang Uyghur Region, Tibet, Inner Mongolia and elsewhere in China.”

The issue will also go before the U.K. Parliament. On July 15, 2021, the U.K. House of Commons will debate a motion calling for a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Olympics 2022. The motion states that “this house believes that the 2022 Winter Olympic Games should not be hosted in a country credibly accused of mass atrocity crimes; and calls upon the Government to decline invitations for its representatives to attend the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics unless the Government of the People’s Republic of China ends the atrocities taking place in the Uyghur Region and lifts the sanctions imposed on U.K. parliamentarians, citizens and entities.”

The mass atrocity crimes referred to in the motion relate to the alleged genocide and crimes against humanity perpetrated against the Uyghurs in Xinjiang, including killings, mass incarceration in camps where Uyghurs would be subjected to torture and abuse, including rape and sexual violence, separation of children from their parents, forced sterilizations, forced abortions, forced labor and much more. The Chinese government denies these atrocities. However, as more evidence of the atrocities comes to light, the denial is increasingly falling on deaf ears.

The call for the diplomatic boycott does not affect the athletes who compete at the Games, but instead calls upon diplomats to send a strong message, with their absence, that the atrocities in Xinjiang cannot be tolerated. Indeed, as the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Uyghurs emphasized: “to participate in these Olympics is to enable the Chinese Government conducting with these crimes. To participate in these Olympics is belittle the suffering of the Uyghurs. It sends a message to the victims that their suffering is trumped by diplomatic relations. This is contrary to the word and spirit of the UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.” It further added that “These games have a strong echo of a previous sporting event: the 1936 Olympics, held in Nazi Germany. (...) We must learn the lessons of the past, and not permit ourselves to again allow a regime conducting large scale human rights abuses to use them as a way to launder their reputation.”

Similar boycotts are proposed across several other parliaments. This is the time for the Chinese government to take a step back and address the human rights situation that exists in its country. It must stop the atrocities, cooperate with the U.N. and other States in investigating the atrocities, prosecute those responsible, provide assistance to all those affected, and introduce safety measures to ensure that such atrocities would never happen again. Until such steps are taken, one cannot continue diplomacy as usual.

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