KEATING, UKRAINE CAUCUS CO-CHAIRS URGE INTERNATIONAL PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE TO CONTINUE BAN OF RUSSIAN AND BELARUSIAN PARALYMPIC COMMITTEES

WASHINGTON D.C. – Yesterday, Foreign Affairs Europe Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Keating (D-MA) and Ukraine Caucus Co-Chairs Marcy Kaptur (D-OH), Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Quigley (D-IL), and Joe Wilson (R-SC) wrote to the President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Andrew Parsons expressing their strong opposition to the IPC’s decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina. Given Russia’s ongoing illegal invasion of Ukraine and the lack of meaningful change in the situation since the IPC initially banned both the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees from competition, the letter calls on Mr. Parson’s to reconsider the decision. 

“Since 2016, the Russian Paralympic Committee has been banned from participating in the Paralympic and Olympic games due to Russia’s government-facilitated doping scandal, as well as the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to the Belarusian government’s complicity in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Belarusian Paralympic Committee has also been banned from competing in the Paralympics since 2022,” said the Members of Congress. “We believe that providing a platform for the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Paralympics is wrong and allowing the display of these flags while the invasion of Ukraine continues will only reward the Russian and Belarusian governments for their illegal aggression and violence.”

Full Text of the Letter:

Dear Mr. Parsons,

Thank you for your work as President of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), and for the IPC’s important efforts to ensure Para athletes can compete in their respective sports at the highest level in the world. We strongly believe in the mission of the IPC to use Para athletics as a vehicle to advance the opportunities available for the more than 1 billion people worldwide with disabilities.

Given the IPC’s role in facilitating the upcoming Winter Paralympic Games in Milan-Cortina, and the importance of the symbolism of these games, we are deeply concerned with the IPC’s recent decision to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the upcoming games. Since 2016, the Russian Paralympic Committee has been banned from participating in the Paralympic and Olympic games due to Russia’s government-facilitated doping scandal, as well as the 2022 full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine. Due to the Belarusian government’s complicity in Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Belarusian Paralympic Committee has also been banned from competing in the Paralympics since 2022.

Today, Russia continues its illegal war of aggression in Ukraine. Russia has not ceased its deliberate targeting of thousands of Ukrainians and their cities, and murdering the next generation of Ukrainian youth. Belarus continues its close cooperation with the Russian Federation, including its complicity in Russia’s mass abduction and militarization of tens of thousands of Ukrainian children. Fundamentally, there has been no meaningful change in the situation since 2022 when the IPC initially banned both the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees from competition as a result of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

We believe that providing a platform for the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees at the upcoming Milan-Cortina Paralympics is wrong and allowing the display of these flags while the invasion of Ukraine continues will only reward the Russian and Belarusian governments for their illegal aggression and violence. We unequivocally disagree with this decision which normalizes Russia’s aggression and feeds the Kremlin’s global propaganda machine. We urge you to reconsider your decision. Thank you for your attention to this matter.