Olympic Shake-Up: IOC Axes 12 Committees, Including Human Rights and Gender Equality Bodies

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is dismantling 12 of its permanent committees as part of a restructuring drive aimed at cutting costs and making its decision-making process more flexible. The Olympic governing body will instead appoint smaller expert panels whenever specific issues require attention, leaving 19 committees in place.

The decision, announced on Friday, marks a shift towards a more targeted approach to policy-making under IOC President Kirsty Coventry, who is in her second year in the role. Coventry has already relied on smaller working groups to examine key issues rather than depending entirely on the organisation’s established commissions.

Among the bodies being scrapped is the Gender Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Commission, which previously dealt with issues concerning gender and inclusion in sport. The IOC had assigned a review of the “protection of the female category” in sports in March to a separate expert panel whose membership was kept confidential, rather than to the existing commission.

The IOC Advisory Committee on Human Rights is also being shut down. It was chaired by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the former deputy president of South Africa. Other committees facing closure focus on sustainability, technology, athletes’ entourage and digital engagement.

These permanent bodies typically comprise between 10 and 30 members and hold annual meetings in Lausanne, Switzerland, where the IOC is headquartered. Their replacement with temporary, issue-specific panels is expected to reduce the need for such standing structures and allow the organisation to bring in specialists according to its priorities.

In a statement, the IOC said the new arrangement would enable “targeted engagement on key strategic priorities and policy development”.