By Gary Anderson

April 29 - The FGG has made a submission to the IOC's Agenda 2020 urging it to be a leader in the fight against discrimination ©Getty Images The Federation of Gay Games (FGG) has released details of its submission to the International Olympic Committee's (IOC) Agenda 2020 which calls on them to be a "rampart against discriminatory laws and practices" and urges future Games not to go to countries with a history of discrimination.

The FGG's submission lays outs suggestions in two main areas: the Olympic Games, including host selection, and the Olympic Movement's role in worldwide sport.

IOC President Thomas Bach launched the Agenda last December as a roadmap for the Olympic Movement.

He has invited input from organisations within the Olympic Movement, international sports federations, human rights groups and third-party sports groups, such as the FGG.

Interested parties had until April 15 to provide submissions, with the IOC set to discuss any potential changes to the Olympic Charter at an Extraordinary Session due to be held in Monte Carlo on December 6 and 7.

The Agenda 2020 has already been discussed at an IOC Session held before Sochi 2014 in February.

The FGG, which had an historic face-to-face meeting with Bach in Paris last November, has made a number of suggestions in its submission to Agenda 2020.

They include calling on the IOC to evaluate the status of human rights in a potential host country which should not be considered if any form of official or unofficial discrimination exists.

This follows the widespread international uproar after the introduction of controversial anti-gay propaganda laws in Russia last year which resulted in a plethora of international leaders staying away from Sochi 2014.

The FGG wants respecting of human rights to be a cornerstone of any  IOC decision to award future Games to countries ©AFP/Getty ImagesThe FGG wants respecting of human rights to be a cornerstone of any IOC decision to award future Games to countries ©AFP/Getty Images



The document goes on to suggest that the IOC must be at least as committed to respecting human rights as it is to protecting intellectual property and marketing rights during the Olympic Games.

"If, as stated in Principle 2 of the Olympic Charter, the 'goal of Olympism is to place sport at the service of the harmonious development of humankind, with a view to promoting a peaceful society concerned with the preservation of human dignity', then basic human rights must be respected by all parties to the Olympic Charter; the IOC, National Olympic Committees, International Federations, and Organising Committees," said  FGG vice-president for external affairs Marc Naimark, part of the delegation to meet Bach in Paris.

"Just as the natural environment is now part of the selection process for Olympic hosts, the human environment must be considered in this most important choice."

The FGG also wants greater gender equality within the Olympic Movement, in particular within Olympic disciplines, events, and national delegations, and has called for an end to testosterone-based criteria for participation in women's sport.

It also says that targets should be set for the greater presence of women in National Olympic Committees, International Federations and Organising Committees and should tackle religious interference in the practice of sport by women and political interference in the practice of sport by all.

FGG female Co-President Joanie Evans claims it is the "duty of the IOC to show leadership in promoting the values represented by its Charter" and can demonstrate its commitment to sport for all by including language referring to sexual orientation and gender identity in the Olympic Charter.

"We fully support the values of the Olympic Charter, and hope that the outcome of Agenda 2020 will go beyond technical reforms and bring the Olympic Movement closer to the values of inclusive sport," added FGG male co-President Kurt Dahl.

"We have invited Mr Bach to join us this August in Cleveland and Akron for the ninth edition of the Gay Games so that he can discover himself the world's largest sport event open to all and the living example of our motto of 'Participation, Inclusion, and Personal Best'."

The 2014 Gay Games are due to take place from August 9 to 16.

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