The text of the following statement was agreed upon by the ministers of sport or their equivalent from the countries and individuals listed at the bottom of the statement.
Begin text: Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice against Ukraine, enabled by the Belarusian government, is abhorrent and a flagrant breach of its international obligations. Respect for human rights and peaceful relations between nations form the foundation of international sport.
We, as a collective of like-minded nations, affirm our support for international sport organizations’ position that: * Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for, or be awarded any international sporting events.
* Individual athletes selected by Russia and Belarus, administrators and teams representing the Russian or Belarusian state should be banned from competing in other countries, including those representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus, such as major football clubs.
* Wherever possible, appropriate actions should be taken to limit sponsorship and other financial support from entities with links to the Russian or Belarusian states.
We call on all international sport federations to endorse these principles, and applaud all those that have done so already. We also welcome the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to prevent Russia’s and Belarus’ athletes from competing in the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. These restrictions should be in place until cooperation under the fundamental principles of international law has become possible again.
We encourage all international sport organizations and all relevant legal bodies not to sanction athletes, coaches or officials who decide to unilaterally terminate their contracts with Russian, Belarusian or Ukrainian clubs, as well as not to pursue or to sanction sport organizers which decide to ban athletes or teams selected by Russia or Belarus.
Furthermore, we encourage the international sport community to continue to show its solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including through supporting the continuation of Ukrainian sport where possible.
Signed by the following ministers or their equivalents: Australia Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Minister for Sport Austria Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler, Minister of Arts and Culture, Civil Service and Sport Belgium Valérie Glatigny, Minister for Higher Education, Adult Education, Scientific Research, University Hospitals, Youth Welfare, Houses of Justice, Youth, Sport and the Promotion of Brussels of the French-Speaking Community.
This signature commits the French-speaking Community, the Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community of Belgium.
Canada The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport Croatia Dr Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sport Cyprus Prodromos Prodromou, Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Office Czech Republic Petr Gazdík, Minister for Education, Youth and Sports Denmark Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, Minister for Culture Estonia Tiit Terik, Minister of Culture Finland Antti Kurvinen, Minister of Science and Culture France Roxana Maracineanu, Minister of Sport Germany Mahmut Özdemir MP, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community Greece Lefteris Avgenakis, Deputy Minister for Sports Hungary Dr István Kovács, Deputy State Secretary for International and European Union Affairs Iceland Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Minister of Education and Children Ireland Jack Chambers TD, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht Italy Valentina Vezzali, Secretary of State for Sport Japan H.E. SUEMATSU Shinsuke, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology Republic of Korea HWANG Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Latvia Anita Muižniece, Minister for Education and Science Liechtenstein H.E. Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport Lithuania Dr Jurgita Šiugždinienė, Minister of Education, Science and Sport Luxembourg Georges Engel, Minister of Sport Malta Dr Clifton Grima, Minister for Education and Sport Netherlands Conny Helder, Minister for Long-term Care and Sport New Zealand Hon Grant Robertson, Minister for Sport and Recreation Norway Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture and Equality Poland Kamil Bortniczuk, Minister of Sport and Tourism Portugal Dr Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, Minister of Education (responsible for Youth and Sport) Romania Carol-Eduard Novak, Minister of Sports Slovakia Ivan Husar, State Secretary for Sport Slovenia Dr Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport Spain Miquel Octavi Iceta i Llorens, Minister of Culture and Sport Sweden Anders Ygeman, Minister for Integration and Migration Switzerland Viola Amherd, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport United Kingdom The Rt Hon Nadine Dorries MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport United States of America Jennifer Hall Godfrey, Senior Official for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs
Source: Office of the Spokesperson
