Human rights and the Olympic Movement after Beijing

It was the Olympic Movement and the IOC, not China, which received the harshest criticism for the abuse of human rights and athletes' rights during the year of the Beijing Olympics. The IOC appeared complicit in the Chinese Government's crackdown on open protest and public dissent, and it contributed to a deep chill among athletes and coaches before and during the Games. It suffered serious blows to its moral authority and legitimacy as a humanitarian organization as a result. This essay places the human rights debates precipitated by the Beijing Olympics in the context of Olympic history, and discusses their implications for the future of the Olympic Movement. I argue that while the IOC never previously made adherence to human rights a monitored standard for admission into the Olympic Movement, nor a condition for staging its Games, it should now do so, and will recommend several measures that should be taken.