Yusra Mardini and Tachlowini Gabriyesos, of the Olympic refugee team, carry the Olympic flag during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games opening ceremony. Photo: David J. Phillip/AP.
Venezuelan authorities criticized the method used by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to choose the members of its Olympic Refugee team, which will participate in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, because the team includes a man of Venezuelan nationality who does not meet the refugee criteria.
In a statement issued by the Venezuelan Foreign Affairs Ministry, the government of Venezuela insisted on “the necessity to respect international law and the laws on refugees, such as impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity and non-politicization in the treatment of the issues inherent to the UNHCR mandate, as well as Fair Play that must prevail, honoring the rigor fulfilled by the athletes who have already qualified.”
The Venezuelan athlete is Edilio Centeno, who would participate in the Olympic shooting discipline under the “refugee” flag, which has been questioned by the Venezuelan Olympic Committee (COV) based on an undisclosed complaint raised by the Venezuelan Shooting Federation, and under other relevant legal principles.
#Comunicado Venezuela rechaza el método implementado por la Oficina de @ACNUR_es en la escogencia del Equipo Olímpico de Refugiados, donde inadecuadamente incluyó a un señor de nacionalidad venezolana en la disciplina de Tiro Deportivo, quien no cumple los criterios… pic.twitter.com/GURPzydeoN
— Yvan Gil (@yvangil) May 4, 2024
In September 2023, the COV presented information on the situation of some athletes who at that time received a scholarship from the International Olympic Committee to carry out their preparation for the games.
In a statement posted on its social media accounts, the COV pointed out that in that report it was explained that there is no prohibition against any of the athletes to enter or leave Venezuela, and none of them could be considered as “politically persecuted.”
The COV stated that it “defends the participation of all athletes in the world as long as all are judged on an equal footing and that they fulfill the rigorous path of qualification in the sporting arenas… Any refugee athlete has the same rights and responsibilities as any other athlete in the world to follow the rules.”
The COV continued that it supports those athletes who “are truly displaced from their countries” but it will never support those who “use other circumstances to achieve what they have not been able to achieve on their own merit.”
The statement added that the COV supports the Venezuelan Shooting Federation which has “sufficient evidence of this athlete in a disciplinary and administrative file that demonstrates why he no longer represents Venezuela.”
Unofficial translation of the statement is provided below:
The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela criticizes the method implemented by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the selection of the Olympic Refugee Team, where it inappropriately included a man of Venezuelan nationality in the Shooting discipline, who does not meet the international criteria to be classified as a refugee.
In this regard, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela urges the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Olympic Solidarity of the International Olympic Committee, to initiate a route of communication and discussion with the corresponding institutions, in order to protect the transparency and rigor that characterizes high performance sports and thus amend the damage caused.
Additionally, the government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela insists on the need to respect the principles of International Law and International Refugee Law, such as impartiality, objectivity, non-selectivity and non-politicization in the treatment of the issues inherent to the mandate of the UNHCR, as well as Fair Game that must prevail, honoring the rigor fulfilled by the athletes who have already qualified.
Finally, Venezuela recognizes the importance of embracing, within sports, inclusive policies for all the people who have been displaced due to persecution and war, and urges that the promise of acting independently of political bias be fulfilled, which otherwise could negatively impact the morale of the national teams that are still in the process of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games as well as on sports on a global scale.
Caracas, May 3, 2024
(Últimas Noticias) by Ariadna Eljuri, with Orinoco Tribune content
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/JRE/SC
