With just one month before the start of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 , the President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis, today made a solemn appeal to the UN Member States for the observance of the Olympic Truce. He called on all warring parties around the world to agree to “true mutual ceasefires” for the duration of the Truce.
The resolution for the observance of the Olympic Truce for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 was formally adopted by the UN in November last year, calling for the Olympic Truce to be respected from seven days before the start of the Olympic Games until seven days after the Paralympic Games.
“I solemnly appeal to all Member States to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the 2024 Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games and to undertake concrete actions at the local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Truce,” said UNGA President Francis.
“I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual ceasefires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully.”
In his appeal, Francis also highlighted the power of sport and the relevance of the Olympic Games to bring the world together in peaceful competition.
“The Olympic Movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for all humankind through the educational value of sport, in particular youth,” he said.“The Games will bring together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events as a means to promote peace, mutual understanding and goodwill among nations and peoples – goals that are also part of the founding values of the United Nations.”
Francis also noted that Paris 2024 would be “breaking new ground in gender equality and inclusivity” by allocating the same number of quota places to male and female athletes, and emphasised that the participation of the Refugee Olympic Team would be “a powerful symbol of inclusion and our shared humanity”.
Paris 2024 to be “a unifying event”
International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach welcomed the UN’s appeal, while emphasising the enduring significance of the Olympic Truce.
“The IOC very much welcomes the solemn appeal by the President of the UN General Assembly, Dennis Francis,” he said.
“The Olympic Truce represents the very essence of what the Olympic Games stand for – peace, unity and the hope of building a better world. In these difficult times, when we are all facing so much confrontation, division and polarisation, the Olympic Truce is more relevant than ever. And, as an event that unites the world in peaceful competition, the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be a powerful reminder that we can all come together peacefully, even in times of wars and crises.”
Paris 2024 Olympic Truce Resolution
The resolution calls for “support for the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to promote peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal” and acknowledges that “the Olympic and Paralympic Games Paris 2024 will be a unifying event”.
It also welcomes “the leadership of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in promoting peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal”, and calls upon all Member States “to cooperate with the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee in their efforts to use sport as a tool to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games”.
The Olympic Truce
The tradition of the “Olympic Truce”, or “Ekecheiria”, was established in Ancient Greece to allow safe participation in the ancient Olympic Games for all athletes and spectators.
The IOC decided to revive the concept of the Olympic Truce for the Olympic Games, with a view to protecting, as far as possible, the interests of the athletes and sport in general, and to harness the power of sport to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation more broadly.
Since 1993, the United Nations General Assembly has repeatedly expressed its support for the Olympic Truce ideal and for the IOC’s mission by adopting, every two years – one year before each edition of the Olympic Games – a resolution entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal".
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