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In less than half a year, the city of Sochi will host the Olympic Winter Games 2014. The eyes of the world are increasingly focused on Russia and its deteriorating human rights situation. This gives those in position of influence with the Olympic movement an essential leadership role to play in advocating that basic human rights principles be respected during major sporting events.

Camiel Eurlings has been a member of the Dutch parliament, a member of the European Parliament, and minister of Transport in the Dutch government. He left Dutch politics and became the CEO of KLM, and deputy-CEO of Air France. In September he will take on an important role as a new Dutch member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

In this prestigious function he will not only attend exciting sport games and maybe hand out gold medals, but he will also need to protect the values contained in the Olympic Charter, and espoused by the Olympic movement as a whole. This means not only that sport is a human right but also that a country hosting the Olympic Games must refrain from any form of discrimination. So, homosexual and bisexual athletes and their supporters should not be treated differently than anyone else.

To host the Olympics, Russia promised to uphold the ‘Fundamental Principles of Olympism” – human dignity, press freedom, and a complete rejection of “any form of discrimination.”

When he takes his seat as one of just a hundred global IOC members, will Camiel Eurlings dare to stand up to defend freedom of expression, assembly and association for everybody? Will he defend the right of Russian journalists to write critical articles about the Olympic preparations, or more broadly about Russia? Or the rights of non-governmental organizations and activists to speak out about environmental, property, or other concerns related to Olympic preparations without being harassed by the authorities? Will he support the rights of workers who have been working to build Olympic venues and infrastructure, and call for a stop to exploiting them? Will he call for Russia’s adherence to the ruling of the European Court of Human Rights that gay prides should be allowed as part of freedom of expression and assembly, a ruling that Russia has so far ignored?

Let us have a look at his track record as a politician. When Camiel Eurlings was the rapporteur of the European Parliament on Turkey in 2006, he scrutinized the human rights situation in that country in order to assess if Turkey was ready to start negotiating its membership to the European Union. “No”, was his answer. “Turkey must step up to secure the freedom of expression,” he said. “It would be unacceptable if any article in the Turkish penal code would limit the freedom of expression. All articles in the Turkish penal code that collide with European values must be changed.”

Eurlings should do no less to protect the values of the Olympic Movement and basic human rights.

He has the chance to lead the movement for human rights reform within the IOC, and to continue to publicly defend these basic rights.

One of his first actions will be to cast a vote for the president of the IOC to replace Jacques Rogge.

Will the powerful new president of the IOC be prepared to tell the Russian authorities to repeal the anti-gay propaganda law and restore the freedom of expression for journalists and NGOs? Will Eurlings himself speak out to say in public that the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi cannot be successful when human rights of activists, journalists, NGOs, or homosexual and bisexual people will be violated? Or that workers, including migrant workers, engaged in Olympic construction should be treated fairly? Russia, as host of the Olympic Winter Games and a member of the Olympic Movement, should unconditionally uphold its responsibilities set out in the Olympic Charter. This includes respect for the principle of non-discrimination and human dignity. As a matter of international law, and in accordance with the Olympic Charter, Russia is simply not allowed to treat homosexual people as second class citizens and curtail their human rights.

It is not too much to ask Camiel Eurlings to protect basic human rights. Indeed, we have seen in the recent past that pressure on the IOC helps to create positive change in a country with a questionable human rights record that is hosting the Olympic Games. In 1988 the Games were to be held in Seoul, South Korea. The country was governed by a military regime and there were frequent public protests, leading to concerns that the demonstrations would damage the Olympics. The IOC pushed for elections to be held before the 1988 Games, which has led to a durable democracy.

We should take the same approach with Russia. The IOC should use its position to convince the Kremlin to repeal the anti-gay propaganda law and to respect basic human rights. If he is a true supporter of the universality of the freedom of expression and other human rights, Camiel Eurlings as the new Dutch member of the IOC can and should lead to ensure that the Sochi Olympic Winter Games will not be degraded to the anti-homosexual games.

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