NGOs call for EU boycott of Winter Games

More than 250 non-governmental organizations have called on European Union leaders to launch a diplomatic boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing ahead of their summit meeting on Thursday. In an open letter, the organizations call on EU member states to send a clear message to the Chinese government for its severe and systematic human rights violations. „There is no prospect of the Beijing 2022 Winter Games playing a positive role for human rights,“ the NGOs wrote. A joint boycott by EU countries has the potential to be „the strongest statement yet by governments who care about defending human rights“.