Olympics row: 35 countries demand Russia and Belarus ban

Olympics row: 35 countries demand Russia and Belarus ban

Subject: International Relation

Section: International organisation

Context:

A group of 35 countries, including the United States, Germany and Australia, will demand that Russian and Belarusian athletes are banned from the 2024 Olympics, the Lithuanian sports minister said on Friday, deepening the uncertainty over the Paris Games.

The move cranks up the pressure on an International Olympic Committee (IOC) that is desperate to avoid the sporting event being torn asunder by the bloody conflict unfolding in Ukraine.

IOC

• IOC was created on 23 June 1894. The first Olympic Games of the modern era opened in Athens on 6 April 1896.
• It is a not-for-profit independent international organisation.
• HQ: Lausanne, Switzerland.

Mandate:

• The IOC is the supreme authority of the Olympic Movement and is responsible for organising the modern Summer and Winter Olympic Games.
• The IOC is the governing body of the National Olympic Committees (NOCs), which are the national constituents of the worldwide Olympic Movement. As of 2016, there are 206 NOCs officially recognised by the IOC.