Roots Action & the United Nations – 2017-12-26 18:54:07
https://act.rootsaction.org/p/dia/action4/common/public/?action_KEY=13181
ACTION ALERT:
Ekecheiria! An Olympic Peace Week for Korea
Roots Action
Petition for an Olympic Truce
We urge you to abstain from war and from provocative war “exercises” for the Olympic Truce between February 2 and March 4, 2018, and then to continue the truce indefinitely thereafter.
(December 23, 2017) — The United Nations has asked its member states to observe an Olympic truce during the upcoming February 9-25 Winter Olympics in Seoul, South Korea, and for one week on either side. That would be February 2 to March 4. South Korea has asked the United States to delay its war rehearsal flights over South Korea until after the truce.
If the world can prove that it can refrain from war during a sports competition, it will have proved that it can do so after the competition as well. If the United States can also refrain from its war “games,” negotiations between it and North Korea may be possible.
This is a serious opportunity to prevent a catastrophic war.
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Background:
UN Resolution: Seventy-second session
Sport for Development and Peace:
Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal
Albania, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Central African Republic, Chile, China, Congo, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Norway, Oman, Panama, Peru, Poland, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America and Viet Nam: draft resolution
Building a Peaceful and Better
World through Sport and the Olympic Ideal
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 70/4 of 26 October 2015, in which it decided 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 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 Declaration (2) 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,
Recalling also that, in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, (3) sport is recognized as an important enabler of sustainable development, in particular for its growing contribution to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as to health, education and social inclusion objectives,
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 71/160 of 16 December 2016 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 XXIII Olympic Winter Games will be held from 9 to 25 February 2018 and that the XII Paralympic Winter Games will be held from 9 to 18 March 2018, in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea,
Noting also that Pyeongchang 2018 strives to open and expand new horizons for winter sports in Asia and across the world, fully harnessing the power of sports to encourage inclusion and to overcome barriers of all kinds,
Recalling that Pyeongchang 2018 marks the first of three consecutive Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in Asia, to be followed by Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022, offering possibilities of new partnership in sport and beyond for Republic of Korea, Japan and China,
Expressing its expectation that Pyeongchang 2018 will be a meaningful opportunity to foster an atmosphere of peace, development, tolerance and understanding on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia,
Recognizing the efforts of Pyeongchang 2018 to promote and further develop winter sports across the world through initiatives such as the “Dream Programme” for youth from regions without winter sports infrastructure,
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,
Recalling article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, (4) 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”, (5) which stresses the promotion of physical, mental and emotional health through play and sports,
Welcoming the significant impetus that the Olympic Games, the Paralympic Games and the Youth 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 XXXI Olympic Summer Games and the XV Paralympic Summer Games, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August and from 7 to 18 September 2016, respectively, and welcoming 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, 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, and the XXXIII Olympic Summer Games and the XVII Paralympic Summer Games, to be held in Paris from 2 to 18 August and from 4 to 15 September 2024, respectively,
Acknowledging the joint endeavours of the International Olympic Committee, the International Paralympic Committee 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,
Acknowledging also 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 Winter Olympic Games, held in Lillehammer, Norway, from 12 to 21 February 2016, and welcoming the third Youth Summer Olympic Games, to be held in Buenos Aires from 6 to 18 October 2018,
Recognizing the role that the Paralympic movement plays in showcasing the achievements of athletes with disabilities to a global audience and in acting as a primary vehicle to promote positive perceptions and greater inclusion of persons with disabilities in sport and society,
Recognizing also that the active involvement of persons with disabilities in sports and the Paralympics Games 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, (6) 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,
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 and Paralympic 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 that, in its resolution 71/160, it supported the independence and autonomy of sport as well as the mission of the International Olympic Committee in leading the Olympic movement and of the International Paralympic Committee in leading the Paralympic movement, 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,
Acknowledging the fundamental principles of the Olympic Charter, including principle 6, 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 that the United Nations flag will be flown at the Olympic stadium and in the Olympic villages of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games and the XII Paralympic Winter 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 XXIII Olympic Winter Games until the seventh day following the end of the XII Paralympic Winter Games, to be held in Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea, in 2018, in particular, to ensure the safe passage, access and participation of athletes, officials and all other accredited persons taking part in the Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Winter Games, and to contribute through other appropriate measures to the safe organization of the Games;
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 Sustainable Development, (3) 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-fourth session the sub-item entitled “Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal” of the item entitled “Sport for development and peace” and to consider the sub-item before the XXXII Olympic Summer Games and the XVI Paralympic Summer Games, to be held in Tokyo in 2020.
Notes
1 Resolution 60/1.
2 Resolution 55/2.
3 Resolution 70/1.
4 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 5 Resolution S-27/2, annex.
6 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2515, No. 44910.
