Ahead of the European Council Summit of 16 December 2021, over 250 non-governmental organizations, including the International Campaign for Tibet, have called for a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing.
In a letter published today, the organizations appeal to EU member states to urgently commit to a joint multilateral diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 in order to send a clear message to the Chinese government on the grave and systematic human rights violations committed against Tibetans, Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Hong Kongers, Chinese human rights defenders and others.
“There is no prospect of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games playing a positive role for human rights or encouraging the Chinese government to halt the above human rights violations,” the letter reads, adding that the Chinese government will instead the presence of foreign officials at Games “as a message that it risks no serious consequences for its actions”. “A joint boycott by EU countries has the potential to be the strongest statement yet by governments who care about defending human rights,” the letter concludes.