Discrimination against women in the field of sport and more particularly in the Olympic Games
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- acting on behalf of the Assembly, on 29 May 1996. See Doc. 7544, report of the Committee on Culture and Education, rapporteur: Mr De Decker Text adopted by the Standing Committee
- Thesaurus
1. The Assembly is concerned about the many instances of discrimination against women wishing to practise sport and more especially about the policy of discrimination with regard to their participation in the Olympic Games.
2. At the Barcelona Olympic Games in 1992, thirty-five countries had no women athletes in their teams, and one of those teams refused to walk behind a Spanish woman athlete at the opening ceremony.
3. Some Islamic countries organised women-only games in Teheran in 1993. Men were barred from these games, as were photographers (male and female) and television cameras. Apparently, the International Olympic Committee supports these games which, it has been announced, are to be held for a second time.
4. The Assembly recalls that the Olympic Charter states that "any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, sex or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement".
5. Wherever fundamental human rights are infringed, the Assembly considers it has a duty to intervene in the internal affairs of any state, irrespective of whether it is a member of the Council of Europe. Even if there are cultural differences and traditions, this should be no argument for accepting any policy of discrimination against women in sport.
6. It welcomes the creation of the Atlanta Plus Committee and its action against such situations.
7. The Assembly recalls the positive, leading role played by the International Olympic Committee in moral or ethical issues, particularly with regard to the fight against apartheid in South Africa.
8. The Assembly therefore requests that the International Olympic Committee:
8.1 firmly and clearly oppose any discrimination against women in sport;
8.2 refuse to support any sports event based on discrimination, such as the "Solidarity Games for Women in Islamic Countries".
