People who mention human rights in context of the Olympics are often accused of mixing politics with sport. So what is the legitimacy of this linkage being made in case of 2008 Beijing Olympics?
To start with, China, in lobbying the IOC to host the Olympic Games, had argued over the years that it had become modern global society and that the human rights situation of its citizens had markedly improvement.
The world was told "trust us" - the abuses of the Cultural Revolution and the Tiananmen Square massacre were a thing of the past -- to be banished to the annals of history.
We were further told that the Chinese Communist Government would use the Beijing Olympics to advance the human rights of its people.
Then, when China was granted the right to host the Olympics, the government again reaffirmed its promise to live up to the Olympic spirit and uphold human rights.
In fact however, the major complaint made by Amnesty International and other watchdog groups is that China has failed to keep the promise they made in 2001 when Beijing was a finalist for the games in regards to improving their human rights record.
China's record on human rights has continued to cloud its Olympic preparations. International human rights groups, celebrities and politicians question if any major improvements have in fact been made to Beijing's human rights record and some activist groups have even asked for countries to actively boycott the Games.
There are also those of us who believe - or hope - that such improvements, as promised to us, are still possible.
Olympic spirit
Second, for centuries the Olympic spirit has been linked to human rights, civility and peace. This is expressed in the Olympic Charter, which specifically prohibits any form of discrimination.
In ancient Greece, a truce was announced before and during each Olympic festival. During the truce, wars were suspended, the carrying out of death penalties was forbidden and safety of visitors travel guaranteed.
So the question that needs to be asked is: Will China honour that ancient tradition of declaring and enforcing the truce in the Olympic year 2008?
Obligations
Third, China has definite human rights obligations under the international human rights law.
Since the early '80s, China has actively sought to increase its participation in multilateral affairs. In fact, contemporary China had become party to a range of over 273 international treaties, of which 239 had become applicable to China only after 1979. These watershed decisions decisively showed China's acknowledgement of the universal applicability of international law.
Since then, international law has even been used by Chinese authorities to modify some of its domestic standards - in particular in economic governance through accepting membership and the rules of, for example, the International Monetary Fund or the World Trade Organisation.
Although in the Chinese record of participation in international human rights regime has been largely negative, China has managed to enter a range of human rights obligations in international law.
The above three reasons give us the right to ask the Chinese authorities about how these international human rights standards have been implemented by their government. It certainly does not constitute "interference into Chinese domestic affairs" or mixing of politics with sport.
Four demands
I like to put forward the following four demands, which are realistic and achievable within the next six months, namely:
1. The cessation of the prosecution of Falun Gong practitioners and the release of all practitioners from prisons and labour camps.
2. The withdrawal of economic and political support for the Sudanese regime and cooperation with the UN to end the Darfur genocide.
3. The granting of amnesty to all political prisoners and the release of all political prisoners from prisons.
4. Put a moratorium on the death penalty in 2008 to comply with the ancient Olympic tradition and international human rights standards.
And let's remember - these are doable, because they only depend on executive decisions of Chinese officials; they require only a simple administrative decision by the same people who are responsible for running the Olympics.
Let us aim that the Beijing Olympic slogan "One world, one dream" reads as Chinese dissidents suggested: "One world, one dream - same human rights".
The best long-term legacy of 2008 Beijing Olympics should be not only new world records in different sporting disciplines, but also a lasting improvement in human rights of Chinese citizens.
Dr Sev Ozdowski OAM is adjunct professor in the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at The University of Sydney. He is a former Australian Human Rights Commissioner and Disability Discrimination Commissioner. This is an edited extract of a speech he delivered at "The International Forum: Human Rights in China and 2008 Olympics", in Taipei, Taiwan, on 21 February 2008.
