UN General Assembly Head Appeals For Olympic Truce During Beijing Games

UNITED NATIONS, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 21st Jan, 2022 ) :The president of the United Nations General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, has appealed to the UN's 193 member nations to take "concrete actions" to promote peace during next month's Winter Olympics in Beijing.

"As president of the General Assembly at its 76th session, I solemnly appeal to all member states to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 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," he told a plenary meeting of the General Assembly, which took note of his appeal.

"I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual cease-fires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully," Shahid said.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution last month to urge UN member states to observe the Olympic Truce throughout the period from the seventh day before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics until the seventh day following the end of the Winter Paralympic Games.

The Olympic movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for all humankind through the educational value of sport, in particular youth, said Shahid. "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." The Olympic Truce is a tradition that dates back to ancient Greece in the eighth century BC. The practice was revived in the 1990s.