One of the vice-presidents of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Australia's John Coates, on Wednesday dismissed the idea that the Olympic body could hold China to account on the issue of human rights before the Beijing Winter Olympics, from February 4 to 20, 2022.

"We are not the government of the world, we must respect the sovereignty of the countries which host the Games," Coates said in response to a question on China's treatment of the Uyghur minority.

"We do not have the capacity to go to a country to tell it what to do ... It is not in our attributions" he continued.

"Crimes against Humanity", according to Amnesty International

Several human rights organizations have accused Beijing of having interned at least one million Uyghurs in "re-education camps" in Xinjiang, subjecting some to forced labor.

Amnesty International has denounced "crimes against humanity".

Beijing denies this figure and speaks of "vocational training centers" to support employment and combat Muslim extremism in this province which had been affected by attacks attributed to Uyghurs.

China is also regularly accused of restricting human rights in Hong Kong.

The 2022 Olympics are the target of calls for boycott or protests against the management of human rights in China, like the US Congress which has criticized five major sponsors of the Games - including Visa and Airbnb - to encourage the alleged genocide of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang.

Beijing had in return accused US officials of "politicizing sport" and defamation of the state led by the Communist Party since 1949. China has already hosted the Olympics in the summer of 2008, an event widely described as a showcase of Chinese economic growth and its growing power.

For the Beijing Games, the foreign public will be banned from staying in China due to health restrictions following the Covid-19 pandemic.

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  • China

  • Uighurs

  • Olympic Games

  • Sport

  • Beijing

  • CIO