In the Olympic Charter, “discrimination of any kind” is specifically forbidden as a “fundamental principle of Olympism.” Beginning in 2014, the prohibition on women athletes wearing head scarves was lifted globally in sports since it prevented millions of women and girls from playing sports like basketball and football. On the other hand, head coverings are prohibited for French competitors in all sports, including those that take place in Paris in 2024. Given that Paris 2024 will be the first “Gender Equal Olympics,” the nation’s prejudice against women and girls who wear the hijab is especially alarming.
France’s olympic shame
These prohibitions have the effect of discriminating against and preventing female athletes from the host nation of the Olympics from enjoying their human rights. Hijab-wearing French Muslim women and girls are not eligible to compete in this or any other Games because they are not given access to the training and competition opportunities required to compete at the Olympic level. International Muslim female athletes will compete in the Olympics and Paralympics without any limitations on their hijab. In France, there is a growing trend of curbing fundamental liberties, such as the freedom of association, the right to peaceful protest, and the freedom of expression. The growing use of intrusive mass surveillance technologies, which are rationalized as security precautions for major events like the Olympics and Paralympics, exacerbates the loss of civic space. The contentious algorithm-driven video monitoring that raises the possibility of discriminating against racialized minorities during the Games is now expressly permitted in France’s new “Olympics” surveillance law, the first of its type in the European Union.
Rights violations under review
“International sporting events ought not to result in enduringly detrimental policy outcomes that curtail fundamental liberties and rights for individuals in France and other countries,” stated Jeannerod. The handbook also addresses abuse against athletes globally, including child abuse in sports, sex testing of female athletes, and sexual and gender-based assault, all of which occur when thousands of national athletes go to Paris from all over the world. Human Rights Watch has worked with athlete whistleblowers and abuse survivors to expose abuse and study how sport develops institutions that allow human rights violations to flourish in studies conducted in countries ranging from Haiti and Japan to Mali and India. National and international sport federations are under pressure from athletes and survivors to implement significant reforms that would enable them to securely report and look into instances of abuse. The Human Rights Watch reporters’ guide offers a summary of the French human rights landscape as well as international sports news that is pertinent to reporting on the Olympics and Paralympics. Background information on the Olympics and human rights is provided, along with information on athletes who experience systemic racism from French law enforcement, communities whose members are victims of systemic abuses, reform initiatives within the Olympic movement, and recent developments involving human rights violations and noteworthy cases.
Olympic spotlight on France’s failures
“The French government’s unwavering commitment to establish a lasting respect for human rights should be the true legacy of these Summer Games, not only in medals or records,” stated Jeannerod. In connection with two instances involving war crimes perpetrated in Syria, the Court of Cassation acknowledged the existence of universal jurisdiction within the French legal system. A legislative reform that will loosen some of the standards for the prosecution of international crimes such war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide was approved by parliament in October. A xenophobic and discriminatory “immigration control” bill was adopted by Parliament, despite calls for its rejection on human rights grounds by the National Commission for Human Rights and Defender of Rights. Regardless of residence status or specific criteria, the bill strengthened administrative authorities to arrest and remove foreign people regarded as a “threat to public order” or to have failed to “respect republican values.” Additionally, it weakened the rights to housing, health care, and family life and criminalized “irregular” residency, a crime that had been outlawed in 2012.
Human rights in the shadows
The status of migrants became increasingly insecure due to obstacles to residency renewal, regularization, and appeal rights; also, the decreasing judicial experience at asylum courts hindered asylum seekers’ access to justice. In Mayotte, the practice of holding minors in administrative custody persisted. The Constitutional Council heard challenges to some of the new law’s provisions in December. Throughout the year, France imprisoned and ordered the deportation of nationals from Syria, Iran, Sudan, Afghanistan, and Haiti, among other nations, where a forced return may amount to refoulement.
