Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck
Minister for Senior Australians and Aged Care Services
Minister for Sport
The statement below was agreed to by ministers of sport or their equivalent after a joint meeting of nations, listed below.
Russia’s unprovoked and unjustifiable war of choice against Ukraine, enabled by the Belarusian government, is abhorrent and a flagrant breach of its international obligations. Respect for human rights and peaceful relations between nations form the foundation of international sport.
We, as a collective of like-minded nations, affirm our support for international sport organisations’ position that:
- Russia and Belarus should not be permitted to host, bid for or be awarded any international sporting events.
- Individual athletes selected by Russia and Belarus, administrators and teams representing the Russian or Belarusian state should be banned from competing in other countries, including those representing bodies, cities or brands that are effectively representing Russia or Belarus, such as major football clubs.
- Wherever possible, appropriate actions should be taken to limit sponsorship and other financial support from entities with links to the Russian or Belarusian states.
We call on all international sport federations to endorse these principles, and applaud all those that have done so already. We also welcome the International Paralympic Committee’s decision to prevent Russia’s and Belarus’ athletes from competing in the 2022 Winter Paralympics in Beijing. These restrictions should be in place until cooperation under the fundamental principles of international law has become possible again.
We encourage all international sport organisations and all relevant legal bodies not to sanction athletes, coaches or officials who decide unilaterally to terminate their contracts with Russian, Belarusian or Ukrainian clubs, as well as not to pursue or to sanction sport organisers which decide to ban athletes or teams selected by Russia or Belarus.
Furthermore, we encourage the international sport community to continue to show its solidarity with the people of Ukraine, including through supporting the continuation of Ukrainian sport where possible.
Signed by the following Ministers:
Australia | Senator the Hon Richard Colbeck, Minister for Sport |
Austria | Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler, Minister of Arts and Culture, Civil Service and Sport |
Belgium | Valérie Glatigny, Minister for Higher Education, Adult Education, Scientific Research, University Hospitals, Youth Welfare, Houses of Justice, Youth, Sport and the Promotion of Brussels of the French-Speaking Community. This signature commits the French-speaking Community, the Flemish Community and the German-speaking Community of Belgium. |
Canada | The Honourable Pascale St-Onge, Minister of Sport |
Croatia | Dr Nikolina Brnjac, Minister of Tourism and Sport |
Cyprus | Prodromos Prodromou, Minister of Education, Culture, Sport and Youth Office |
Czech Republic | Petr Gazdík, Minister for Education, Youth and Sports |
Denmark | Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen, Minister for Culture |
Estonia | Tiit Terik, Minister of Culture |
Finland | Antti Kurvinen, Minister of Science and Culture |
France | Roxana Maracineanu, Minister of Sport |
Germany | Mahmut Özdemir MP, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community |
Greece | Lefteris Avgenakis, Deputy Minister for Sports |
Hungary | Dr István Kovács, Deputy State Secretary for International and European Union Affairs |
Iceland | Ásmundur Einar Daðason, Minister of Education and Children |
Ireland | Jack Chambers TD, Minister of State for Sport and the Gaeltacht |
Italy | Valentina Vezzali, Secretary of State for Sport |
Japan | H.E. SUEMATSU Shinsuke, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology |
Republic of Korea | HWANG Hee, Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism |
Latvia | Anita Muižniece, Minister for Education and Science |
Liechtenstein | H.E. Dominique Hasler, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport |
Lithuania | Dr Jurgita Šiugždinienė, Minister of Education, Science and Sport |
Luxembourg | Georges Engel, Minister of Sport |
Malta | Dr Clifton Grima, Minister for Education and Sport |
Netherlands | Conny Helder, Minister for Long-term Care and Sport |
New Zealand | Hon Grant Robertson, Minister for Sport and Recreation |
Norway | Anette Trettebergstuen, Minister of Culture and Equality |
Poland | Kamil Bortniczuk, Minister of Sport and Tourism |
Portugal | Dr Tiago Brandão Rodrigues, Minister of Education (responsible for Youth and Sport) |
Romania | Carol-Eduard Novak, Minister of Sports |
Slovakia | Ivan Husar, State Secretary for Sport |
Slovenia | Dr Simona Kustec, Minister of Education, Science and Sport |
Spain | Miquel Octavi Iceta i Llorens, Minister of Culture and Sport |
Sweden | Anders Ygeman, Minister for Integration and Migration |
Switzerland | Viola Amherd, Head of the Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport |
United Kingdom | The Rt Hon Nadine Dorries MP, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport |
United States of America | Jennifer Hall Godfrey, Senior Official for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs |
