Abstract
In this paper, from a historical perspective particular attention is paid to the unilateral sports boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympic Games against the background of the Helsinki process of détente (CSCE) in Europe, the 1995 EU sports boycott of Nigeria, and the debate concerning the Olympic Games, China and human rights in The Netherlands in 2008. In this context, the Netherlands government’s so-called Starting Points for ‘Sport and Politics’ are separately dealt with in detail.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsNotes
- 1.
Cf., Siekmann (1984).
- 2.
In 1992, Robert (‘Bobby’) Fischer won an unofficial rematch against Boris Spassky of the USSR, after having captured the World Championship title from him in a match in Reykjavik, Iceland, that was widely publicised as a Cold War confrontation. The 1972 match attracted more worldwide interest than any chess match before or since. The rematch was held in Yugoslavia, which was then under the UN embargo. This led to a conflict with the US government, which was also seeking income tax from Fischer on his match winnings, and he never returned to his native country.
- 3.
Department of State Bulletin, March 1980, p. 50.
- 4.
This subject was based on an East European (Bulgarian/Polish) proposal (Doc. CSCE/I/8 and CSCE/II/I/1/Rev. 1 of 5 July and 19 September, 1973 respectively. See Kavass et al. (1981), vol. I: Stage I—Helsinki 1973, resp. vol. V: Stage II—Geneva 1973–1975, pp. 375 et seq., resp. pp. 21, 4–6. During the CSCE follow-up meeting in Belgrade, a Bulgarian proposal was submitted on Co-operation in Sports, Doc. CSCE/BM/44- of 11 November, 1977 (see Granier (1980), p. 559. The word ‘sport’ as such does not appear either in the final document of Belgrade of 8 March, 1978 or in that of the follow-up meeting of Madrid. On the background to the paragraph on sport: ‘The intention of the East European countries was to ensure that sporting contacts would help to reinforce friendship and mutual understanding between nations and to use these contacts to carry out the East European idea of detente, and in general to introduce political aspects into sports contacts, possibly by the creation of new European organizations. In contrast, the Western countries adopted the position that only existing ties and existing co-operation was under discussion, as well as contacts in accordance with existing procedures. The text of the Final Act is in fact restricted to existing ties and co-operation. Nor can the text be used for the organization of “political” sporting events.’ (See “Conferentie over Veiligheid en Samenwerking in Europa; Helsinki–Genève–Helsinki 1973–1975” [Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe; Helsinki–Geneva–Helsinki 1973–1975], published by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, No. 115 (The Hague 1976), p. 155.).
- 5.
On the legal character of the Final Act, see van Dijk (1980), pp. 106–110.
- 6.
The Russian bibliography about the CSCE which appeared in Moscow in 1978 lists in volume II the agreements/protocols of the USSR with Australia, Sweden, France, Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Italy. Apart from its agreement with the Soviet Union, the Netherlands have also made agreements with East Germany, Czechoslovakia, Poland and Bulgaria.
- 7.
In the Agreement concerning the principles of co-operation between the sporting organisations of the USSR and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Sportfederatie: NSF) of 23 June, 1976, the only reference made is to the cultural agreement between the two countries which ascribes a role to exchanges in the field of sport in the context of détente (See Annex D for the text of the Agreement). Text of the Agreement concerning the cultural co-operation between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of 14 July, 1967, in: Tractatenblad, 1967, No. 115 (see introduction and under Article 2 sub k). See also the Explanatory Memorandum for the parliamentary approval of the agreement, Bijlage Handelingen [Annex to Parliamentary Proceedings], II 1967/68—9337, No. 3. N.B. In the protocols some references are made to the European Sports Conference, which has taken place in alternate years since 1973 between central Western and Eastern sports organisations.
- 8.
Knecht (1980), pp. 51–52.
- 9.
Van den Heuvel (1978), p. 48. N.B. The present chairman of the Soviet N0C is also the Minister of Sport.
- 10.
Cf., the vice-chairman of the American delegation at the follow- up meeting of Madrid on 24 November, 1980, World Affairs, 1982, No. 4, p. 333 et seq.
- 11.
NYIL, 1981, pp. 167–168.
- 12.
Department of State Bulletin, May 1980, pp. 14–15.
- 13.
Aanhangsel Handelingen [Appendix to Parliamentary Proceedings], II 1979/1980, No. 568, p. 1111.
- 14.
Cf., Guldenpfennig (1981), in particular see pp. 35, 134.
- 15.
Cf., the Decision of the Judicial Division of the Council of State on 12 June, 1980 in pursuance of the possible South African participation in the Olympic Games for the Handicapped (Paralympics) held in the Netherlands, NYIL, 1981, p. 349 et seq.
- 16.
Article 24 F. ‘The flag […] used by a NOC at the Olympic Games shall be submitted to and approved by the Executive Board of the IOC.’ The Bye-laws to the Rules states ‘[…] NOCs may only make use of the Olympic flag […] provided that they have the express approval of the IOC to do so.’.
- 17.
At the same time the Mayor of Innsbruck offered his city as a permanent location for the Winter Games, which had been held there previously in 1964 and 1976.
- 18.
Official Journal of the European Communities, No. C59 of 10 March, 1980, pp. 57–58.
- 19.
Doc. 4585.
- 20.
Olympic Review (1980), p. 706.
- 21.
However, the IOC now has at its disposal a formal criterion of assessment based on international law in view of the contract that is made between the IOC and the organising NOC, as well as the city chosen for the Games. This is Article 5 of the model contract as contained in the Olympic Charter. (This article was not included in the 1979 version, though it is contained in the 1982 and 1983 versions.) It reads: ‘If the country where the city is located at any time before the opening ceremony of the Games finds itself in a state of war or in a situation officially considered as one of belligerence, the IOC has the right, by simple notification addressed to […] the NOC, to withdraw the Games from the city.’ (author’s emphasis added). This provision could, in fact, be considered as a modern variation of the classic Olympic principle of political truce. During the Games there was always a truce, and the organising city State was forbidden to wage war and the other city States were forbidden to declare war on it.
- 22.
Olympic Review (1980), pp. 107–108.
- 23.
Id., p. 110.
- 24.
Reference is also made to the section ‘History’ in Siekmann (1998), pp. 400–405, which is the first time the article is published in an English version.
- 25.
Reference is made to the text of the Resolutions dealing with the Olympic Truce in the section ‘Documentation’ in Siekmann (1998).
- 26.
See for the text of such resolutions, The International Sports Law Journal (ISLJ) 2008/1-2, pp. 128–132.
- 27.
The European Court of Justice explicitly accepted this (sport-specific) sporting exception to the non-discrimination of EU non -nationals with regard to team sports in Walrave and Koch.
- 28.
See on the matter of possibly depoliticising the venue of the Olympic Games: Rich 2009.
References
Dijk P van (1980) The final act of Helsinki—basis for a Pan-European system? Netherlands Yearbook of International Law (NYIL)
Granier JP (1980) Human rights and the Helsinki conference on security and cooperation in Europe: an annotated bibliography of United States government documents. Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, vol. 13, Spring–Summer 1980, Number 2–3
Guldenpfennig S (1981) Internationale Sportbeziehungen zwischen Entspannung und Konfrontation—Der Testfall 1980. Cologne
Heuvel MP van den (1978) Sport in de Sovjetunie [Sport in the Soviet-Union]. Haarlem
Kavass II, Granier JP, Dominick MF (eds) (1981) Human rights, european politics, and the Helsinki accord—the documentary evolution of the conference on security and co-operation in Europe 1973–1975, New York
Knecht W Ph (1980) Der Boykott—Moskaus missbrauchte Olympiade. Cologne
Siekmann RCR (1984) Sportcontacten met Zuid-Afrika (Sporting relations with South Africa), NSF [Netherlands Sport Federation] publication No. 116. The Hague, June 1984
Siekmann RCR (1985) The Boycott of the 1980 Olympic games and Détente. In: Bloed A, van Dijk P (eds) Essays on human rights in the Helsinki process. T.M.C Asser Instituut, The Hague
Siekmann RCR (1996) Internationaal sportrecht (International sports law). In: Praktijk voor de Sportbestuurder—Suppl 51, Nov 1996
Siekmann RCR (1998) De sportboycot van Nigeria: sport, politiek en mensenrechten (The sports boycott of Nigeria: sports, politics and human rights), Internationale Spectator
Siekmann RCR (2003) The Sports Boycott of Nigeria. In: Korchia N, Pettiti C (eds) Sports et Garanties Fondamentales: violences—dopage/sports and fundamental guarantees: assault—doping. In: 7th international congress of the international association of sports law co-organised by the human rights training institute of the Paris bar association—Center Louis Pettiti, Paris 30 November–1 December 2000. Tours
Siekmann RCR (2008) The sports boycott of Nigeria: sports, politics and human rights. The international sports law journal (ISLJ) 1–2, pp 121–124. Previously published in: Korchia N, Pettiti C (eds) (2003) Sports and fundamental guarantees—assault—doping, 7th I.A.S.L. Congress Papers. Tours, pp 85–97
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2012 T.M.C. Asser Institute and the author
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Siekmann, R.C.R. (2012). International Sports Boycotts: Sport, Law and Politics. In: Introduction to International and European Sports Law. ASSER International Sports Law Series. T.M.C. Asser Press. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-852-1_11
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-6704-852-1_11
Published:
Publisher Name: T.M.C. Asser Press
Print ISBN: 978-90-6704-851-4
Online ISBN: 978-90-6704-852-1
eBook Packages: Humanities, Social Sciences and LawLaw and Criminology (R0)
