Paralympics chief: No need for rights assurances

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and International Paralympic Committee President Philip Craven pose at a meeting with International Paralympic Committee board members and honorary council members before the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Paralympics in Sochi, Russia, Friday, March 7, 2014. AP

SOCHI, Russia—The head of the International Paralympic Committee says there is no need to seek human rights assurances from countries hosting future games.

The buildup to the Olympics and Paralympics in Sochi saw rights groups protesting the Russian law banning so-called gay “propaganda.” It led to a coalition calling on the International Olympic Committee to ask future host nations to commit to not introducing laws that would violate human rights.

IPC President Philip Craven, who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, says when it comes to voting “I don’t think we necessarily need to emphasize certain different areas, except one and that is sport—the athletes.”

Craven says in an Associated Press interview that “each individual can be affected by different things” when considering human rights.