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Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal Back To Main

Seventieth session
Agenda item 12
Sport for development and peace: building a  peaceful and better world through sport and  the Olympic ideal

Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Mozambique, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Tunisia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) and Viet Nam: draft resolution.

The General Assembly,  Recalling its resolution 68/9 of 6 November 2013, in which it decided to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session the sub-item entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, and recalling also its prior decision to consider the sub-item every two years, in advance of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games,

Recalling also its resolution 48/11 of 25 October 1993, which, inter alia, revived the ancient Greek tradition of ekecheiria (“Olympic Truce”) calling for a truce during the Olympic Games to encourage a peaceful environment and ensure safe passage, access and participation for athletes and relevant persons at the Games, thereby mobilizing the youth of the world to the cause of peace,

Recalling further that the core concept of ekecheiria, historically, has been the cessation of hostilities from seven days before until seven days after the Olympic Games, which, according to the legendary oracle of Delphi, was to replace the cycle of conflict with a friendly athletic competition every four years,

Recognizing the valuable contribution of sport in promoting education, sustainable development, peace, cooperation, solidarity, fairness, social inclusion and health at the local, regional and international levels, and noting that, as declared in the 2005 World Summit Outcome,1 sports can contribute to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding among peoples and nations,

Welcoming the designation of 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace,   Recalling the inclusion in the United Nations Millennium Declaration2 of an appeal for the observance of the Olympic Truce now and in the future and for support for the International Olympic Committee in its efforts to promote peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal,

Acknowledging the valuable contribution that the appeal launched by the International Olympic Committee on 21 July 1992 for an Olympic Truce could make towards advancing the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations,

Recalling its resolution 69/6 of 31 October 2014 on sport as a means to promote education, health, development and peace, in which it called upon future hosts of the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games and other Member States to include sport, as appropriate, in conflict-prevention activities and to ensure the effective implementation of the Olympic Truce during the Games,

Noting that the XXXI Olympic Summer Games will be held from 5 to  21 August 2016, and that the XV Paralympic Summer Games will be held from 7 to  18 September 2016, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,   Recalling that one of the main goals of the Olympic Summer Games and the Paralympic Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro is to foster an atmosphere of peace, development, tolerance and understanding among the countries united therein,

Welcoming the significant impetus that the Olympic Summer Games, Paralympic Summer Games, Youth Summer Olympic Games, Olympic Winter Games, Paralympic Winter Games and Youth Winter Olympic Games give to the volunteer movement around the world, acknowledging the contributions of volunteers to the success of the Games, and in this regard calling upon host countries to promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind,

Noting the successful conclusion of the XXII Olympic Winter Games and the XI Paralympic Winter Games, held in Sochi, Russian Federation, from 7 to  23 February 2014 and from 7 to 16 March 2014, respectively, and welcoming the XXIII Olympic Winter Games and the XII Paralympic Winter Games, to be held in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, from 9 to 25 February and from 9 to 18 March 2018, respectively, the XXXII Olympic Summer Games and the XVI Paralympic Summer Games, to be held in Tokyo from 24 July to 9 August and from 25 August to 6 September 2020, respectively, and the XXIV Olympic Winter Games and the XIII Paralympic Winter Games, to be held in Beijing from 4 to 20 February and from 4 to 13 March 2022, respectively,

Acknowledging the joint endeavours of the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee, the United Nations Office on Sport for Development and Peace and relevant United Nations entities in such fields as the promotion of human rights, human development, poverty alleviation, humanitarian assistance, health promotion, HIV and AIDS prevention, child and youth education, gender equality, peacebuilding and sustainable development,

Recalling article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child,3 which outlines the right of the child to engage in play and recreational activities, and the outcome document of the twenty-seventh special session of the General Assembly on children, entitled “A world fit for children”,4 which stresses the promotion of physical, mental and emotional health through play and sports,

Acknowledging the importance of the Youth Olympic Games in inspiring youth through integrated sports and cultural and educational experiences, noting in this regard the successful conclusion of the second Youth Summer Olympic Games, held in Nanjing, China, from 16 to 28 August 2014, and welcoming the second Youth Winter Olympic Games, to be held in Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016, and the third Youth Summer Olympic Games, to be held in Buenos Aires from 1 to 12 October 2018,

Noting that the Special Olympics World Winter Games will be held from 14 to 25 March 2017 in Graz, Austria,

Recognizing that the active involvement of persons with disabilities in sports and the Olympics contributes to the full and equal realization of their human rights, as well as respect for their inherent dignity, recalling articles 1 and 30 of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities,5 in which States parties recognized the right of persons with disabilities, including those with long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, to take part on an equal basis with others in cultural life, with a view to enabling persons with disabilities to participate on an equal basis with others in recreational, leisure and sporting activities, and noting in this regard plans to stage integrated and inclusive Games,

Recognizing also the imperative need to engage women and girls in the practice of sport for development and peace, and welcoming activities that aim to foster and encourage initiatives in this regard at the global level,   Welcoming the commitment made by various States Members of the United Nations and other relevant stakeholders to developing national and international programmes that promote peace and conflict resolution, the Olympic and Paralympic values and the Olympic Truce ideals through sport and through culture, education, sustainable development and wider public engagement, and acknowledging the contribution of former hosts of the Olympic Games in this regard,

Recognizing the humanitarian opportunities presented by the Olympic Truce and by other initiatives supported by the United Nations to achieve the cessation of conflict,

Recalling its resolution 69/6, in which it supported the independence and autonomy of sport and recognized the unifying and conciliative nature of major international sport events and that such events should be organized in the spirit of peace, mutual understanding, friendship, tolerance and inadmissibility of discrimination of any kind,

Welcoming the decision of the International Olympic Committee to reinforce fundamental principle 6 of the Olympic Charter, which states that the enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in the Olympic Charter shall be secured for all, without discrimination of any kind,   Noting with satisfaction the flying of the United Nations flag at the Olympic stadium and in the Olympic villages of the XXXI Olympic Summer Games and the XV Paralympic Summer Games,

1. Urges Member States to observe the Olympic Truce individually and collectively, within the framework of the Charter of the United Nations, throughout the period from the seventh day before the start of the XXXI Olympic Summer Games until the seventh day following the end of the XV Paralympic Summer Games, to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil;

2. Underlines the importance of cooperation among Member States to collectively implement the values of the Olympic Truce around the world, and emphasizes the important role of the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the United Nations in this regard; 

3. Welcomes the work of the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, as well as the International Olympic Truce Foundation and the International Olympic Truce Centre, in mobilizing national and international sports federations and organizations, National Olympic and Paralympic Committees and associations of National Olympic Committees to take concrete actions at the local, national, regional and international levels to promote and strengthen a culture of peace based on the spirit of the Olympic Truce, and invites those organizations and national committees to cooperate and share information and best practices, as appropriate; 

4. Also welcomes the leadership of Olympic and Paralympic athletes in promoting peace and human understanding through sport and the Olympic ideal;

5. 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;

6. Recognizes that sport and the Olympic and Paralympic Games can be used to promote human rights and strengthen universal respect for such rights, thus contributing to their full realization;

7. Welcomes the cooperation among Member States, the United Nations and the specialized agencies, funds and programmes, and the International Olympic Committee and the International Paralympic Committee, to maximize the potential of sport to make a meaningful and sustainable contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals within the 2030 Agenda for SustainableDevelopment,6 and encourages the Olympic and Paralympic movements to work closely with national and international sports organizations on the use of sport to this end;

8. Requests the Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly to promote the observance of the Olympic Truce among Member States and support for human development initiatives through sport and to continue to cooperate effectively with the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee and the sporting community in general in the realization of those objectives; 

9. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second session the sub-item entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal” and to consider the sub-item before the XXIII Olympic Winter Games and the XII Paralympic Winter Games, to be held in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, in 2018.