UN General Assembly Proclaims Olympic Truce Period

2014 Winter Olympics (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

On Wednesday, the UN General Assembly adopted an Olympic resolution that was drafted by Russia, the host country of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. The idea of the resolution is to proclaim truce for the period of the Games.

Diplomats of all world nations paid tribute to tradition by voting at the United Nations for peace throughout the world. Truce is expected to be observed at least for the month while the 22nd Winter Olympics and the 11th Paralympics are under way in Sochi. The Head of the Sochi-2014 Organizing Committee, Dmitry Chernyshenko, came to New York expressly to attend the voting on the resolution. It was he who submitted the Russian draft.

"Distinguished Mr. President, as the president of the organizing committee for 22 Olympic Games and the 11th Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014, which will be held for the first time in Russia, I have the honor to introduce to the General Assembly a draft resolution entitled, 'Building a Peaceful and Better World Through Sports and the Olympic Ideal'. This draft resolution is mainly inspired by the ancient Greek tradition for more than 2000 years of calling for a truce during the Olympic Games, which ensured the safe passage of athletes to and from the site of the games," he said.

The voting at the United Nations is actually a combination of the ancient Olympic tradition and modern-day ways. The UN has adopted symbolic Olympic truce periods since 1993. Diplomats have since been voting once every two years on this kind of document. Although all of that is formal and non-binding, what matters is symbolism, said Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee.

"Precisely because many of our principles are the same, it must always be clear in the relationship between sport and politics that the role of sport is always to build bridges. It is never to build walls. Sport stands for dialogue and understanding, which transcend all differences. Sport and the Olympic movement especially understands the global diversity of cultures, societies and life designs as a source of richness. We never accuse or exclude anyone," he said.

The officials of the Russian Sochi-2014 Organizing Committee and the International Olympic Committee said at the United Nations that the forthcoming Games should serve to inspire people, and give an example of how differences could be peacefully reconciled.- Voice of Russia