OLYMPICS-WINTER/ALMATY Kazakhstan vows to improve human rights and doping issues ahead of IOC vote

Record ID: 145747

  • Title: OLYMPICS-WINTER/ALMATY Kazakhstan vows to improve human rights and doping issues ahead of IOC vote
  • Date: 29th July 2015
  • Summary: REPORTER TAKING PHOTO
  • Embargoed: 13th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Malaysia
  • Country: Malaysia
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA1EM3RWVGJFT2QBQACDZR8SNBC
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Bid Committee of Almaty Winter Olympics vows to improve Kazakhstan's human rights record and deliver a "clean" sports event ahead of a vote that will decide the host of Winter Olympic 2022.
    Almaty, the financial capital of Kazakhstan, will go head-to-head with the Chinese metropolis Beijing on Friday (July 31) when the International Olympic Committee elects the winner at its session in Malaysia.
    The two candidates were both criticised by human rights watchgroup over its sketchy human rights record, though Kazakhstan said it is working to improve the situation.
    Kazakhstan has been accused of media restrictions and doing little to stop violence and discrimination against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people.
    "As a young country, we always move forward to improve our understanding and to apply our traditional things in line with human rights. Because if you imagine our country 20 years ago, would have been different from now. We're work now very hard to be integrated to international community, to be fully member of new modern world," said Andrey Kryukov, the vice-chairman of the Almaty 2022 winter Olympic bid committee.
    Its ability to present a clean Games was in question too, after the bicycle team, which is sponsored by Samruk-Kazyna, a coalition of state-owned companies, was hit by a slew of doping cases.
    Several Astana Pro Team riders failed doping tests last season.
    "Astana team is very important project for the Kazakhstan, it was around... especially to promote the Astana brand and especially to promote cycling sports in our country. But if you like to ask this question, I'll like to tell that, always the clean up is the top priority of the bid of 2022," Kryukov said.
    The authorities hope the global sports event will put the nation -- which is five times the size of France -- firmly on the map.
    Almaty, where winters are frosty and snowy, believes its bid is strong because 70 percent of the venues for the Games have already been built, including the Medeu skating oval where more than 120 world records have been broken since the 1950s.
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