UPDATE 2 - IPC Suspends Membership Of Russian Paralympic Committee

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th November, 2022) The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) said on Wednesday it had suspended the membership of the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) in the organization.

"At an Extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin, IPC members have voted 64-39 (with 16 abstentions) in favour of a motion to suspend NPC Russia with immediate effect due to its inability to comply with membership obligations under the IPC Constitution," the IPC said on Twitter.

"Due to its suspension, NPC Russia loses all IPC membership rights subject to its right to appeal. Should any appeal not be upheld, only the General Assembly can lift the suspension. Next General Assembly likely Q4 of 2023," it added.

Later in the day, the committee also suspended the membership of the Belarusian Paralympic Committee in the IPC.

"At an Extraordinary General Assembly in Berlin, IPC members have voted 54-45 (with 18 abstentions) in favour of a motion to suspend NPC Belarus with immediate effect due to its inability to comply with membership obligations under the IPC Constitution," the committee said.

IPC President Andrew Parsons said on Wednesday, following the suspension of the Russian and Belarusian committees' membership, that he would like to live in a world "where sport unites the world in peaceful competition."

"As a democratic, membership-based organisation, it was important to allow the General Assembly, as the supreme body of the IPC, to take a decision on this important matter. Before votes were taken on the respective motions, IPC members had the opportunity to express their views. This included hearing from the NPCs of Russia and Belarus who, under German Law which governs our Constitution, had the right to attend, speak, and present their case to the Extraordinary General Assembly. Ultimately, our membership has decided to suspend both NPCs with immediate effect, until further notice," Parsons said in a statement on the website, adding that "as IPC President, I want us to live in a world where sport unites the world in peaceful competition, enabling athletes to compete against their rivals to the best of their abilities in a safe and secure environment."

The RPC on Wednesday slammed the decision as illegal and unfounded as the IPC has not provided any evidence that the Russian committee had violated its membership obligations.

"The Russian Paralympic Committee believes that the decision to suspend all membership rights of the RPC is illegal, groundless, lacks any legal basis and grossly violates the entire IPC Regulations. As the basis for its decision, the IPC referred to the violation by the RPC of its membership obligations as set forth in the IPC Constitution, as well as the violation by the RPC of the Olympic Truce," the Russian committee said on the website, adding that the IPC failed to provide "a single piece of evidence that the RPC has violated at least one of its membership obligations in accordance with the provisions of the IPC Constitution. All allegations of the IPC in this regard are absolutely unfounded."

Alexander Brod, a member of Russia's human rights council, called the IPC's decision inhumane as Paralympians have nothing to do with politics.

"In the anti-Russian frenzy, they (the IPC) decided to unleash their fury of Paralympians wrath. There is nothing humane left, and such a concept as mercy has been scrapped. What do Paralympians have to do with politics and SVO (Russia's special military operation) � people with limited opportunities who demonstrate strength and determination by participating in sports events?" Brod said.

The human rights council's member noted that the Russian side is now unable to appeal the decision.

"The cynicism of what has happened is that Russia's membership has been suspended without the right to appeal. And the next General Assembly, which could revoke the ban, will be held at the end of next year," Brod added.

In late February, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) recommended that international sports federations not allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to participate in competitions due to the situation in Ukraine. A number of international sports federations followed this recommendation. The IPC suspended Russian and Belarusian athletes from participating in the Paralympic Games in Beijing.

The IPC stripped the RPC of its membership in the organization in August 2016, before the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The RPC was conditionally reinstated in March 2019.