“The Olympic Games is an extremely important event, and it’s an event that symbolizes the role of sports in bringing people together and in promoting peace,” Guterres said at a January press conference. “And it is in this strict context and without any political dimension that I intend to be present in the opening.”
Late last year, the United States signed into law the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which alleged that China is carrying out an ongoing genocide against the Uyghurs, a Muslim group in China’s western Xinjiang region.
Several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark and Estonia, have announced so far that they would not be sending their official delegations to China. Foreign Policy magazine reported Tuesday that US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield pressed Guterres to also skip the games but the secretary-general refused.
“They are certainly not upholding human rights,” Sen. Merkley said. “When they cite the Olympics in a situation that turns the athletes into pawns in a propaganda machine against [their] desire.”