Amid widespread violence and discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex (LGBTI) people in Russia, Kerry Kennedy and Santiago A. Canton of the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights (RFK Center - www.rfkcenter.org) called on President Vladimir Putin and Russian authorities to not discriminate against LGBTI individuals and to respect their rights to freedom of expression and association and the right of peaceful assembly.

Anti-LGBTI laws combined with repeated homophobic statements by public officials and systematic impunity for crimes committed against LGBTI people have cultivated and inflamed social hostility toward sexual minorities in the country. A number of credible reports have repeatedly detailed violence and discrimination directed at LGBTI people in this environment, including a number of anti-gay vigilante groups and violent demonstrators who have physically assaulted LGBTI individuals and their allies, many times with the encouragement or acquiescence of local authorities.

Russia's federal "homosexual propaganda" law - which was passed in June 2013 among other anti-LGBTI measures - outlaws any positive public comments about LGBTI people, including pride parades and demonstrations; criminalizes discussion of equal rights with children; and places harsh restrictions on the media. The law clearly violates Russia's international human rights obligations contained in the European Convention on Human Rights and the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and stands in direct contradiction to the principle of non-discrimination also enshrined in Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter.

"With President Putin's stamp of approval, Russia has effectively endorsed homophobia and incited an onslaught of violence against LGBTI people," said Kerry Kennedy, President of the RFK Center. "The culture of impunity that protects the perpetrators of these hate crimes is disgraceful and unacceptable. Without an immediate course correction, Russia will open the 22nd Olympic Winter Games as a favorite to win the gold medal for intolerance - though competition from Nigeria is stiff."

In 2012, the United Nations Human Rights Committee determined that a law banning "homosexual propaganda" in the Ryazan region of Russia was an impermissible restriction of the right to freedom of expression, and amounted to discrimination in violation of the ICCPR. Likewise, the European Court in 2010 held that Russia had violated the rights to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly by repeatedly denying LGBTI activists the right to hold a gay pride parade, stating that the expression of ideas not necessarily held by the majority of a population are protected under international law.

Disturbing remarks by President Vladimir Putin, who has equated homosexuality with pedophilia, and Sochi mayor Anatoly Pakhomov, who stated that Russia needs to "cleanse" itself of homosexuality, provide evidence of Russia's overall intolerance. The repression of LGBTI rights is also part of a larger onslaught on civil society and the domestic media that has taken place under President Putin, who has routinely sought to limit so-called "foreign influences."

"The crackdown we are witnessing is completely out of sync with internationally recognized human rights standards, as well as Russia's claim that it deserves to host prestigious international events," said Santiago A. Canton, director of RFK Partners for Human Rights. "Due to the present and long-standing human rights concerns, Russia seems an entirely inappropriate venue for events meant to showcase a spirit of global solidarity and mutual understanding."

Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter reads: "Any form of discrimination with regard to a country or a person on grounds of race, religion, politics, gender, or otherwise is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic Movement." In addition to the Sochi Olympics, due to commence on February 6, Russia recently hosted the World University Games and the World Track and Field Championships in Moscow. The country will also play host to the FIFA World Cup in 2018.