PACE proposes ban against Russia, Belarus over war on Ukraine

By Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - Russian and Belarusian nationals could be banned from representing their countries in the fields of science, education, sports and media in Europe, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) announced Wednesday as a measure to isolate them over the war on Ukraine.

As a mark of solidarity with the Ukrainian people, the council’s committee on culture, science, education and media has called on decision-makers from 46 member states to exclude Russian and Belarusian national teams, clubs and individuals from all sporting events and to suspend or cancel any exchanges and partnerships. It has, however, underlined that the ban should not be imposed against those Russian and Belarusian nationals who are not representing their countries, participating, or competing officially.

The committee has also appealed to state authorities not to broadcast content from Russian and Belarusian sponsored radio or television channels.

The council is an international organization based in Strasbourg, France that promotes democracy and human rights and the rule of law in Europe. The committee on culture, science, education and media is one of the nine general committees of the Parliamentary Assembly.

The committee on Tuesday adopted a declaration outlining these prohibitions, based on a proposal by British parliamentarian Lord George Foulkes.

The committee referred to the International Olympic Committee’s recommendation to international sports federations not to invite athletes and officials from Russia and Belarus to international competitions and to cancel sporting events planned in the two countries.

Belarus has acted as an important launchpad for Russia’s all-encompassing war against Ukraine. Moscow has used Minsk’s southern border with Ukraine to gain access to routes leading to the capital.

At least 2,787 civilians have been killed and 3,152 others injured in Ukraine since the war started on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates. The true toll is feared to be much higher.

So far, 7.7 million people in Ukraine have been internally displaced, with more than 5.3 million fleeing to other countries, according to the UN refugee agency.