Football and human rights. The ball is (still) wrong… in Russia
(B2) The World Cup starts this Thursday (June 14) in Russia. It does not escape politics. Hard to do otherwise. But how to do it ? It's a bit like the ball going around in circles...
« Severe restriction on freedom of the press, imprisonment of journalists and political opponents, intimidation of human rights defenders "... Russia's record on fundamental rights is not glorious to read the communicated published on the opening day of the football World Cup in Russia on Thursday (June 14) by three European Parliament officials. Russia " shows a poor record in terms of human rights, even in the preparation of this world cup ».
Violations that can no longer be tolerated
These " human rights violations " who " should no longer be tolerated said the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, David McAllister, his counterpart on the Human Rights sub-committee; Pier Antonio Panzeri, Chairman of the Delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee, Othmar Karas. All three are not really inveterate alternatives or frenzied anti-Russians: they are part of the German CDU (for the first), of the Italian democratic and progressive movement Article ONE (for the second) and the Austrian ÖVP (for the third) and are members of the coalition which leads the Parliament and the European Commission. So much for moderates...
No resignation
However, the three MEPs are not resigned to the fact that the protection of human rights comes after " any other concerns ". " We call for major sporting events to become an opportunity for reflection and change. “They appeal more directly” Asked international authorities that govern the Games ", for " ensure respect for human rights in their statutes when awarding and preparing the organization of major sporting events ».
Vain warning?
The choice of the next organizer of the World Cup in 2022, Qatar, has already been made. Where practices of so-called modern slavery have been denounced by NGOs for the construction of stadiums... The last investigation report of Amnesty International notes a few minor developments in the right direction, at least on the rights of migrant workers. But not on freedom of expression or on the conditions of women. But as long as men keep playing...
(Emmanuelle Stoesser)
