Announcement from the Presidium of FINSO regarding the situation in Ukraine

The second video conference of sports ministers on the situation in Ukraine, initiated by the United Kingdom, took place on June 30, 2022. Representatives from 34 countries participated in the conference.

As a result of this conference, on July 4, 2022, a declaration was adopted and published, which was signed by representatives of 34 countries.

All subsequent FINSO decisions on this issue were made taking into account the recommendations of this declaration.

FINSO expresses deep concern regarding the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine, facilitated by the Belarusian government. War is a reprehensible and flagrant violation of international humanitarian principles.

FINSO stands for peace, understanding, building bridges between peoples and cultures and working together to create a better world. Violence goes against our core values, and we sincerely hope that the world will unite and achieve a peaceful resolution to the current conflict.

Respect for human rights and peaceful relations between countries form the basis of international sports.

The current situation has had a negative impact on the work of our international organization, FINSO, and its members.

Therefore, the FINSO Presidium held extraordinary meetings on July 25th and 27th, 2022, and formalized previously adopted decisions on actions that will take immediate effect:

• To prohibit the holding of FINSO events in Russia or the Republic of Belarus;
• To prohibit organizations from these countries from submitting applications to host FINSO events;
• To prohibit the consideration of membership applications from organizations in Russia and Belarus until further decisions are made by the FINSO Presidium;
• To limit the powers and responsibilities of existing representatives from Russia in the FINSO Presidium. At this stage, these representatives may participate in debates but are not allowed to vote or represent their country;
• Representatives from Russia and the Republic of Belarus cannot be nominated by anyone and are not allowed to submit an application to obtain a mandate as an official representative of FINSO;
• All novices and other officials from Russia and Belarus who wish to participate in FINSO events at a certain stage must submit a written request to the FINSO Presidium asking for permission to participate in a specific FINSO event as neutral participants (athletes, judges, etc.).

The FINSO Presidium makes a decision in accordance with Article 12, paragraph 2 of the FINSO statute**.

* Delegates from Russia and Belarus may participate in meetings, conferences, and other gatherings, engaging in debates but without the ability to participate in voting.

**For each new event in which they wish to participate, newists and other official representatives from Russia and Belarus must submit their own application.

All applications must be sent to the following email addresses:

• juris.kiriks@gmail.com
• paeglek@gmail.com
• novussport@gmail.com

Applications must be submitted in a timely manner to ensure that they are considered on time. FINSO will not consider applications that are submitted later than specified in the regulations of the event.

The organizing committee (host) of the event may refuse to accept participants from Russia and Belarus. This must be explicitly stated in the tournament regulations.

All participants wishing to take part in FINSO events must familiarize themselves with the following recommendations/requirements (see below) and guarantee their compliance (in writing). Failure to comply with these recommendations/requirements may result in disqualification of participants.

Recommendations /requirements/:

In cases where a decision has been made to allow participants from Russia and Belarus (including athletes, officials, and administrators) to participate in events, it should be clear to everyone that they do not represent the countries of Russia or Belarus. The use of official flags, emblems, and anthems of Russia and Belarus is prohibited. Appropriate measures must be taken to ensure that any public announcements or symbols displayed by participating athletes, officials, and administrators at FINSO events align with this approach.