UN calls for respect for Olympic truce as Paris Summer Games begin
By UN News
As the Summer Olympics and Paralympics get underway in Paris, UN Secretary-General António Guterres is calling for global respect of the Olympic Truce – a custom of halting all hostilities before to after the Games.
In November, the UN General Assembly adopted a vote to observe the truce in Paris.
“In a moment like this, it’s important to say that the first recorded in history real peace initiative was the Olympic Truce,” Mr. Guterres said during a press briefing in the French capital alongside International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach.
Addressing a news conference in the French capital Paris, he added that this also a moment to remind the world that guns must be silenced.
Noting many points of existing conflict across the globe including in Gaza, Sudan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and more, the UN Chief said the Olympic Games symbolise “cooperation and loyal competition, instead of division and conflict”.
He therefore encouraged countries to foster unity the way athletes are during these games.
Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees encouraged everyone across the globe to promote “peaceful co-existence and mutual respect” as the refugee team competing in the Games is doing.
“Sport is a symbol of hope and of peace, which are sadly in short supply in our world today,” The High Commissioner, Filippo Grandi, said.
He added that the refugee team is a beacon for hope everywhere and they are nothing short of an inspiration.
This year’s squad consists of 37 athletes – the largest since the 2016 Rio Games when refugee teams first debuted.
