Human Rights Watch

Beijing turned female Olympians into objects of nationalism, while Chinese women suffer

There was something deeply discomfiting about the 2022 Beijing Olympics – and it wasn’t just that the festivities covered up severe human rights abuses, including crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs in Xinjiang and the erasure of fundamental freedoms in Hong Kong. As I watched how female athletes have been perceived and how their narratives have […]

China: Censorship Mars Beijing Olympics

IOC, Sponsors’ Inaction Enables Restrictions on Athletes, Journalists (New York) – Chinese government censorship seriously marred the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics, which close on February 20, 2022, Human Rights Watch said today. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and corporate sponsors have not spoken out about the government’s human rights record or used their leverage to press for rights […]

China: IOC Can’t Ensure Olympic Apparel Is Abuse-Free

Supplier Audits Lacked Transparency, Don’t Answer Key Questions (New York) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) did not conduct adequate human rights due diligence to address the risk that Olympic uniforms and other products for the Beijing Winter Games aren’t linked to grave rights violations in China’s Uyghur region, the Coalition to End Forced Labour in […]

Olympics: Protect Peng Shuai

Sport & Rights Alliance Calls on the IOC To Put People Before Partnerships (Nyon, Switzerland, December 1, 2021) – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) should immediately stop supporting China’s strategy of suppression and start prioritizing protecting athletes and upholding its human rights obligations, the Sport & Rights Alliance said today. The process of developing an […]

Olympics: Don’t Promote Chinese State Propaganda

Olympic Committee’s Call with Chinese Tennis Star Disregards Safety Concerns (New York) – The International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) collaboration with Chinese authorities on tennis star Peng Shuai’s reappearance undermines its expressed commitment to human rights, including the rights and safety of athletes, Human Rights Watch said today. On November 21, 2021, the IOC said in a statement that its […]

Chinese Tennis Star’s Disappearance Is Warning for Olympics

Peng Shuai Hasn’t Been Seen in Public Since November 2 Three-time Olympian Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai is missing. The hashtag #WhereIsPengShuai is trending globally, and world tennis champions Naomi Osaka, Serena Williams, and Novak Djokovic voiced fears about the 35-year-old star’s whereabouts.  On November 2, Peng said on social media that she had been sexually assaulted, forced […]