There is no longer any doubt: the Paralympic movement knows how to demonstrate a firmness and political courage that its Olympic counterpart remains lacking. Its international body, the IPC, demonstrated this again on Wednesday November 16.
Meeting in an extraordinary general assembly in Berlin, it voted by a large majority to exclude the Russian and Belarusian national Paralympic committees. The fate of the two countries was decided in two different ballots. But their result turned out to be common.
By 69 votes for, 39 against and 11 abstentions, the IPC general assembly voted in favor of the suspension of the Russian Paralympic Committee. The exclusion of Belarus was less consensual, the vote showing a more nuanced result: 54 votes for, 45 against, 18 abstentions.
In both cases, the same explanation: the IPC considers that the two national Paralympic committees are in “ the inability to comply with the membership obligations provided for by its statutes"
The exclusion of the two national Paralympic committees is effective immediately. But both countries can appeal the IPC's decision.
In a press release published in the evening, Wednesday November 16, the French Paralympic and Sports Committee (CPSF) explains that it voted in favor of the exclusion of the two countries. “ The Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees never condemned their countries' invasion of Ukraine, which began while the Beijing 2022 Paralympic Winter Games were in full swing, breaking the Olympic and Paralympic truce“, recalls the French body.
Unless there is an unlikely turnaround, Russia and Belarus will remain away from the Paralympic movement until the next IPC general assembly. It should be held during the last quarter of 2023. Less than a year before the Paris 2024 Games, therefore.
With such a timetable, it already seems almost certain that athletes from both countries will not be able to participate in the next Summer Paralympic Games. The road to qualifications will remain closed to them for too long to hope to obtain quotas, even in the event that the IPC decides to reinstate the two national Paralympic committees at the end of next year.
Faced with the Russian question, the firmness of the International Paralympic Committee displays a striking contrast with the more evasive attitude of the IOC. At the Rio 2016 Games, the IPC excluded Russia from competitions, following the revelation by the McLaren report of state doping two years earlier at the Sochi Winter Games. The IOC, for its part, opened the door to them, requiring only that they leave their official uniforms, their flag and their anthem in the vestibule.
At the last Winter Games, in February and March 2022 in Beijing, the IOC once again accepted a delegation “ neutral » of the Olympic Committee of Russia. The IPC banned any participation by the two belligerent countries.
The vote of the IPC general assembly on Wednesday November 16 effectively excludes the Russian Paralympic leaders. Conversely, the IOC has never dismissed the Russian Olympic committee, nor has it suspended its two Russian members, Yelena Isinbayeva and Shamil Tarpischev. Stanislav Pozdniakov, the president of the Russian Olympic Committee, was present last month at the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC). He was even invited to the podium for a presentation.
The president of the Russian Paralympic Committee, Pavel Rozhkov, was due to travel to Berlin this week for the IPC general assembly. He was prevented from doing so, the German authorities having refused his visa. The Russian leader attended remotely, in virtual mode, excluding his body.
Unsurprisingly, the Russian Paralympic movement did not remain without reaction after the announcement of the results of the IPC vote. In a press release, its national committee considers that its suspension is “ illegal, baseless… and goes against the rules and statutes of the IPC"
The Russians note that the IPC has never provided proof that their national Paralympic committee had violated its membership obligations. Finally, they recall that NATO countries were never sanctioned by the international sports community when the Alliance launched strikes on Yugoslavia, then invaded Afghanistan and Iraq.
