UNGA adopts truce resolution for 2022 Beijing Olympics amid boycott calls; IOC backs move

Ahead of 2022 Beijing Olympics, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has adopted a resolution entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal”. The resolution, which was co-sponsored by 173 Member States, was adopted at the 76th session of the UNGA in New York on Thursday. It calls for the observance of Olympic Truce for the Olympic and Paralympic Games Beijing 2022, from seven days before the begining of the Olympic Games, on 4 February 2022, until seven days after the end of the Paralympic Games.

It is to mention that the tradition was revived in 1993 by the United Nations, extending its support by adopting it every two years or a year before the next edition of the Olympic Games. Moreover the UNGA also expressed that "the expectation that the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 will be a meaningful opportunity to harness the power of sport to advance the world by fostering an atmosphere of peace, development, resilience, tolerance and understanding, and welcoming all the delegations of National Olympic and Paralympic Committees to participate in the Games".

Why is neutrality of Olympic Games important?

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has backed the passage of the resolution, which is aimed at promoting peace through sports. IOC President Thomas Bach explained in his speech why the resolution is important to ensure the political neutrality of the Olympic Games. Bach explained how the ancient Olympic Games suffered after the then Roman Emperor Theodosius abolished the games for political reasons. It took almost 2000 years before the next edition of the Olympic Games could finally be held in 1896.  

“The IOC very much welcomes the great support for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 by all the UN Member States, expressed through the adoption by consensus of the Truce Resolution. This is a great recognition of the mission of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to unite the best athletes of the world in peaceful competition, and standing above any political dispute,” IOC President Thomas Bach said in a statement. 

The last time a country declined to send athletes to the Olympics was in 1988, five years before the UN resurrected the Olympic Truce tradition. Meanwhile, the former Soviet Union remains the biggest victim of Olympic boycotts when in 1980 more than 60 countries refused to compete in the coveted games, which were held in Moscow at the time. The next edition of the Olympic Games is scheduled to be held in China's Beijing in 2022. The United States has already threatened to boycott the games in China in order to protest against the alleged human rights violations in the country. It will be interesting to see if the United States goes against the resolution to boycott the games in China. 

(Image: olympics.com)