General Assembly Session 54 meeting 62

The Acting President

This is the fifth time the General Assembly has examined agenda item 22, entitled "Building a peaceful and better world though sport and the Olympic ideal". Since the adoption of resolution 48/10 on 25 October 1993, States Members have reaffirmed their attachment to the principles and ideals of ekecheiria, a tradition of ancient Greece that dates the ninth century B.C., according to which all conflicts would cease during an Olympic Truce from the seventh day before the opening of the games until the seventh day after their closing.

The proliferation of conflicts, internal as well as international, of which civilian populations are the innocent victims, can only reaffirm to us the need to work towards the ideal embodied in that tradition by encouraging States, in conformity with the United Nations Charter, to resolve their differences through peaceful means.

To this end, Member States have continued to reinforce ties between the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee through the creation of joint programmes, especially in the areas of development, eliminating poverty, health and education, humanitarian assistance, protection of the environment and combating drugs.

Because of their common goals of promoting the harmonious development of humanity and international understanding, the United Nations and the International Olympic Committee dedicate themselves to imparting to young people around the world the principles of tolerance, solidarity, friendship, competition in diversity and respect for others.

I would like to add a personal note here. As President of Monaco's Olympic Committee, member of the International Olympic Committee and, above all, as an athlete who has had the privilege of representing my country in the Olympic Games, I would like to emphasize the great necessity of taking every occasion that arises to build a more peaceful and better world through sport. That is why I attach the greatest importance to the honour of presiding over this plenary meeting, which I hope will result in Member States' renewal of their support for this noble cause.

I give the floor to the representative of Australia to present the draft resolution A/54/L.26.

Mr. Kowalski (Australia)

As an Australian citizen and an Olympian, I am greatly honoured to introduce this draft resolution, entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal" to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session.

We are particularly honoured by the presence of His Highness Prince Albert of Monaco, in his capacity as Acting President of this plenary meeting. Prince Albert is not only an outstanding ambassador for his country and the international Olympic Movement, he is also a former Olympic athlete himself.

Australia, as host of the twenty-seventh summer Olympics and the eleventh Paralympiad in Sydney in 2000, is proud to be the lead sponsor of this consensus-building draft resolution. The draft resolution has attracted 180 sponsors. In addition to those listed in the document before the Assembly, I would like to note the following sponsors: Afghanistan, Belgium, Cuba, Hungary, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Palau, the Republic of Moldova, Sao Tome and Principe and Vanuatu.

The draft resolution reaffirms the importance of the Olympic ideal in promoting international understanding and goodwill through sport and culture. More practically, it calls on all countries to observe the Olympic Truce during the period of the Olympic Games and to consider ways in which the Truce can be used beyond the Olympic period.

The draft resolution also recognizes the complementarity that exists between the principles of the United Nations and those of the international Olympic Movement.

Australia's commitment to the Olympic Movement is long-standing. We are one of only two countries, along with Greece, to participate in every Summer Olympic Games of the modern era. We will also be one of only five countries to host two Summer Olympic Games. The first was the Games of the XIV Olympiad in Melbourne in 1956.

Australia's commitment to the Olympic Movement is further reflected in our approach to the 2000 Games. The mission of the Games' organizers has been, from the outset, to deliver the world the most harmonious, athlete-oriented and culturally enhancing Games to date.

The 60-day festival of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sydney will reaffirm the true sporting values of dedication, courage, fair competition, compassion and respect for individual human worth. Above all, the festival will celebrate the athletic participation and achievements of women and men brought together from 200 countries from around the globe.

It is true that Australia is known widely as a sporting nation. The values of universality, inclusiveness and respect for diversity that are at the heart of the Olympic Movement are also integral to the Australian way of life.

As an Australian, not a day goes by that I do not drive by a sporting field, a swimming pool or a basketball court and see hundreds of kids participating in sport, emulating their heroes. Through seeing today's Olympians in action, the youth in our country know it is possible to be the best; but more importantly, they know they have the opportunity to do so. Not only are they furthering their sporting dreams, but life as well.

I learned so much as I grew up watching and admiring the Olympians before me. I learned about commitment, sacrifice, enjoying the opportunity, managing my time and giving 100 per cent, and most importantly I learned to be proud of what I do and who I am. These great messages that I was taught, and that I am continuing to teach the youth of the next millennium, are more than messages to do with sport; they are messages that help people in life no matter what field they choose to follow.

The staging of the Olympic and Paralympic Games will highlight Australia as an open, tolerant and inclusive community made up of migrants from more than 160 countries. Through cultural events staged in conjunction with the Games, the unique culture and heritage of our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples will also be demonstrated.

The 2000 Games also demonstrate our strong commitment to environmental protection. In our statement on this agenda item two years ago, we noted our pledge to make the 2000 Games "the greenest Games ever".

In developing the site, Olympic organizers have integrated a wide range of ecologically sustainable and environmental initiatives. For example, the use of innovative energy-efficient and recycling technologies throughout the Olympic Village has helped create a model of environmentally friendly accommodation and the world's largest solar-powered housing development.

Australia is keen to ensure that the Sydney Summer Olympic Games and Paralympics reflect not only the ideals and values of the international Olympic movement, but also the values and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter.

In this context, we will be proud to fly the flag of the United Nations at all competition sites of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. We see this as a symbolic gesture which will affirm the role of the United Nations in building peace and cooperation among nations and will acknowledge the nexus between the United Nations and the international Olympic Movement.

In this context, Australia strongly supports and encourages the growing number of cooperative programmes of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the United Nations system that focus on promoting education, peace and human well-being through sport and physical activity. As noted in the draft resolution, the IOC and the United Nations have jointly developed initiatives in a range of fields, including development, health promotion, protection of the environment and poverty eradication.

Australia has a long-term commitment to international sports development programmes through partnership with Governments, sporting agencies and the IOC. These programmes have received special recognition from the IOC and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. For example, Australia has been active in assisting more than 30 countries in the South Pacific, southern Africa, South and South-East Asia and the Caribbean with sports development programmes. The focus of these activities is on capacity-building in the areas of physical education, community sports development and improved sports management and coaching systems.

The work of the IOC and the United Nations in the humanitarian field, through the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is particularly special for me. As a goodwill sporting representative for UNHCR, I had an opportunity last year to participate in a programme to provide relief assistance to refugee camps on the Thailand-Cambodia border. We went into these two camps simply as strange and foreign faces, with the goal of letting the people there know that others around the world care about their plight. We were armed with various items of sporting equipment and educational materials to share with the refugees. It truly was an incredible experience. At the end of our stay we could see that our visit had been a success. The looks on the children's faces were ones I will never forget. A smile from ear to ear, a look of hope in their eyes -- it was as satisfying as winning an Olympic medal.

Since my visit in October 1998, the camps have closed and all refugee groups have been voluntarily repatriated to Cambodia. It is great to see the work of the United Nations producing results on the ground, not only in terms of immediate care for displaced persons, but also through more enduring solutions that allow displaced people, whether they be in Thailand or Macedonia, to return safely to their homes.

Australia warmly welcomes all countries to Sydney to compete in the 2000 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. It is through this friendly competition that the Olympic ideal finds real and practical expression. The friendships made through sport transcend political, religious, social and economic differences around the world.

Through my participation at the Olympic Games, world championships and numerous other competitions, I have travelled to all corners of the world and experienced many different customs and traditions. In this time I have met and become very good friends with my fellow competitors and with athletes in general. The great thing about being an athlete is that, regardless of your background and where you are from, we all have one thing in common: we all speak the same language, the language of sport. The Olympics and sport in general have helped me look past the barriers and rid my mind of any preconceived ideas I may have had.

Unfortunately, I cannot compete for Australia for ever, even though I would love to. What will last for ever, though, are the friendships with my South African, Japanese, Brazilian, German, American, Canadian, English and Dutch friends, to name but a few. The successful staging of the Games in Sydney, in an environment of world peace, makes a strong statement to the world that peaceful and harmonious relations between peoples and nations is a stronger force than war, hatred and bitterness.

I recommend this draft resolution to the members of the General Assembly.

Mr. Gounaris (Greece)

I would like at the outset to extend our most sincere condolences to the people and the Government of Italy, as well as to the family of the late Amintore Fanfani.

It is a great honour for me to take the floor on the Olympic Truce, an old but still very contemporary concept, under agenda item 22, entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal". The draft resolution introduced by Australia, the country hosting the Olympic Games in the year 2000 in Sydney, urges all Member States to observe the Olympic Truce and to revive the ancient Greek tradition of ekecheiria, dating back to the ninth century B.C.

The term ekecheiria, from the ancient Greek, literally translates as "holding hands". It indicates a suspension of hostilities or an armistice for a prescribed period of time during the Olympic Games in order to allow the athletes participating in the Olympic Games, as well as their relatives and thousands of ordinary pilgrims, to travel, unobstructed by fear, attend the legendary Games in peace and then return to their home towns in safety and security.

The first such resolution calling for the revival of the Olympic Truce was adopted unanimously in 1993, during the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly, after an appeal launched by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and endorsed by 184 National Olympic Committees. This resolution is a landmark in the history of the Olympic ideal and; I dare say, in the annals of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

In 1995, the biannual resolution called for consideration of this item in advance of the Summer and Winter Olympic Games. In 1997, a similar resolution called for the observance of the Olympic Truce during the Nagano Winter Games and was sponsored by the vast majority of States Members of the United Nations.

Before the opening of the Nagano Winter Games in February last year, the Greek Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. George Papandreou, presented to the International Olympic Committee a proposal. It consisted of a set of organizational structures and a broad range of activities, including the establishment of an international Olympic Truce centre to be completed soon, under the auspices of IOC. The Greek suggestions are essentially aimed at infusing new life and impetus into the ancient tradition of the Olympic Truce. Furthermore, they seek to strengthen the role of the Olympic Movement and to promote peace and international reconciliation. Truce-making needs to be a universal effort. The International Centre for the Olympic Truce will offer a permanent forum for the promotion of truce in areas of conflict. This proposal was welcomed and endorsed fully by the International Olympic Committee.

Greece will have the distinct honour to host the 2004 Summer Olympic Games. Our endeavours will be inspired by the authentic tradition of the Olympic Games and the original values embodied in the Olympic ideal. In our bid, we pledged to help the revival of the Olympic Truce to realize, for two weeks and hopefully longer, the dream of world peace. The Olympic Truce, in our times, would serve to promote dialogue, reconciliation and the search for durable solutions to conflicts around the world.

Greece, together with the International Olympic Committee, has proposed the creation of "a moment" -- a global moment. We hope that this Assembly, which has unanimously endorsed this project, will give its full support to the observance of the Olympic Truce during the Games of the year 2000 in Sydney, Australia and all future Olympics. It is to be hoped that this event will become a momentous festival of peace in our global village.

I would like to express our appreciation to the mission of Australia for giving us the honour to be the first co-sponsor of this draft resolution and extend our heartfelt thanks to the overwhelming number of delegations that have co-sponsored this draft resolution. The message of peace and reconciliation originating in this draft resolution will give us, I am sure, hope and vision towards the next millennium.

Mr. Baali (Algeria)

At the outset, on behalf of Algeria and the Group of African States, which I am chairing this month, I wish to convey to the Government and people of Italy my deep sympathy and heartfelt condolences over the death of Mr. Amintore Fanfani, an eminent Italian statesman who helped to shape the history of his country and Europe. Through his courageous stances and great humanism, he left his imprint on international relations in the second half of this century.

Every two years since 1993, the General Assembly has taken the felicitous initiative of considering the question of the Olympic ideal, which represents a source of inspiration and hope for humanity. It expresses the true essence of the will, through healthy and fair competition, to weave and strengthen the ties that bind and to replace rivalry and discord with social interaction and concord.

That is why, despite the many ordeals, conflicts and tragedies in which humanity has lacerated and occasionally shattered itself, we have remained deeply attached to this ideal, which is buoyed by the noble principles of understanding, tolerance, dignity and mutual respect.

Respect for these principles has assumed even greater significance in the twilight of this century, when, just as mankind has come to believe that it has mastered the forces of nature and its own destiny, the world has been brutally offered up to the twin demons of violence and hatred; has relived the horror of genocide and ethnic cleansing; is profoundly threatened by the new threats of international terrorism and organized crime; and must tragically face the unbearable suffering of hundreds of millions of people living at the margins of civilization -- if not of humanity itself -- in hunger, sickness and destitution and whose unspeakable martyrdom is broadcast instantly and daily by the global media.

In the face of the upheavals that shake it and the challenges that call it, humanity has no choice but patiently to repatch the fabric of solidarity and trust. What better arena in which to do so than that in which all the world's children meet every four years under the Olympic banner?

In this regard, I welcome your presence among us, Sir, and pay heartfelt tribute to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and its President, Mr. Samaranch, for the remarkable efforts he has made to that end. I wish to convey to him the full appreciation of my country for the initiatives that have been undertaken to conclude mutually advantageous cooperation agreements with the organs, organizations, programmes and institutions of the United Nations system, including the United Nations Environment Programme, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

In this respect, my delegation welcomes the initiatives of the IOC on behalf of the refugees of Africa, Asia and Eastern Europe. We were equally delighted by the decision taken several years ago to fly the United Nations flag at all Olympic events.

The Olympic Games have always provided a moment for harmony between peoples and been a symbol of acceptance of diversity and openness to tolerance and fairness. They have provided the unique opportunity for young athletes from different cultures and backgrounds to share their experiences.

It is essential that the Olympic spirit be protected from bad influences and not succumb to temptation. The Olympic flame must indeed preserve its purity and brilliance. In this respect, we are sure that the meeting in Sydney, to be held at the juncture of two millenniums and in which more than 190 countries are to participate, will strengthen the Olympic spirit and give new impetus to the great ideals and fundamental principles of friendship, solidarity, understanding and fair play among the peoples of the world.

As far as we are concerned, Algeria has always attached particular importance to the development of sport and the promotion of peace and friendship among peoples, as it has on all occasions defended the Olympic ideal in regional and international competitions, endorsing the ideals of peace and security advocated by Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the International Olympic Committee, so that the modern Olympics would become a symbol of unity among the nations. It is in that spirit that my delegation has from the very outset supported this initiative and that it is again co-sponsoring draft resolution A/54/L.26.

Algeria was particularly pleased to do this, as the initiative was essentially an African one from the outset. It was the Organization of African Unity (OAU), of which Algeria is currently Chairman, which in 1993, at the request of the African Sport Movement, introduced two draft resolutions, one dealing with the building of a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal, and the other with the proclamation of 1994 as the International Year for Sports and the Olympic Ideal, to mark the centenary of the foundation of the International Olympic Committee. Two years later the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the OAU itself lent all its political moral weight to the appeal for the Olympic Truce.

Africa's interest in the Olympic Movement and its devotion to the values it carries date back to the beginning of this century, when, despite the constraints and restrictions, African athletes, under the flags of the colonial Powers of that time, wrote in gold letters on the Olympic Pantheon the name of a continent which had irreversibly awoken to history. Did not Baron de Coubertin -- aware as he was of the immense potential contribution of Africa to the Olympic Movement and the necessity to open up sport as a universal language and a permanent school of life to the colonized people of Africa -- advocated unsuccessfully the organization in 1928 of African games at Algiers, which were not held until half a century later in 1978, bringing together the countries of the continent which were finally free. History nevertheless saw that justice was done to the African people, and after their independence, despite the often pathetic sums available to them, they gave the Olympic Movement the universality that it lacked and the breath and the momentum it needed.

Furthermore, Africa, whose sporting exploits are unanimously claimed and celebrated, is proud today of the presence of illustrious Africans at the head of the three greatest international federations.

May the Olympic spirit prevail and may future Olympic Games provide an opportunity for the human family to rise above its differences and rifts and provide a time of truce -- why not permanently -- when it can come to terms with itself once and for all.