Return of Russia and Belarus to Paralympics raises concern
The Sports Ministers of 33 countries and the European Commission have expressed their grave concern about the decision of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) in September to discontinue the partial suspensions of the National Paralympic Committees of Belarus and Russia from the Paralympic Games.
The statement underlines the independence and autonomy of sports organisations and the unifying spirit of sport, but views this development with serious concern, given that the Russian aggression against Ukraine continues and the Russian and Belarusian breaches of the Olympic Charter remain.
The Ministers recall that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and IPC sanctions against the Russian and Belarusian Olympic and Paralympic Committees stemmed from the violation of the Olympic Truce, through Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine facilitated by Belarus launched in February 2022.
The statement commends the IOC for maintaining the stance of ensuring no Russian or Belarusian state representation at the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games. The Ministers welcome the IOC’s decision to maintain the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee for breaches of the Olympic Charter, including its violation of the territorial integrity of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine.
The Ministers also note in the IPC’s update of 23 October that in practice no Russian or Belarusian athletes are now likely to participate in the 2026 Winter Paralympic Games since none of the athletes are likely to qualify for the competition.
The statement calls upon the IPC to clarify what the decision of their members will mean for paralympic sports events beyond the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Paralympic Games, and for those areas under the National Paralympic Committee of Ukraine that Russia has temporarily occupied.
The statement also calls upon individual International Federations to continue to follow the IOC stance to ensure no Russian or Belarusian state representation in their sports events.
Signed by:
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Croatia, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the European Commission.
Inquiries:
Tiina Kivisaari, Director, tel. +358 295 330 178
Satu Heikkinen, Senior Ministerial Adviser, tel. +358 295 330 102
Toni Ahva, Special Adviser to the Minister of Youth, Sport and Physical Activity, tel. +358 295 330 036