Page 56 - Coespu Magazine 2018-2

essentially an effort to use sport as an instrument of peace, helping in building
bridges between communities in conflict, and, more generally, to create a
window of opportunity for dialogue and reconciliation.
Coming to the present age and as a consequence of dramatic events such as the
infamous massacre during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, nearly a
century after the Games’ revival, the International Olympic Committee (IOC)
decided to reintroduce the Olympic Truce.
th
Meanwhile, at its 48 Session in 1993, the UN General Assembly urged
Member States to observe the Olympic Truce at all future Games. Following
concerted diplomatic efforts, the Olympic Truce was observed for the first time
in the modern era at the Olympic Winter Games Lillehammer 1994 in Norway.
The Opening Ceremony of those Games saw the then-IOC President, Juan
Antonio Samaranch, deliver a powerful speech to the thousands of spectators
assembled at the Lysgårdsbakken Olympic Stadium and to hundreds of
millions of viewers worldwide.
Samaranch reminded his audience that the Bosnian city of Sarajevo, which had
hosted the Olympic Winter Games just ten years earlier, was in the midst of a
deadly siege. “Our message is stronger than ever”, he said. “Please stop the
fighting. Please stop the killing. Please drop
your guns”. It was a heartfelt appeal that
resounded far beyond the small Norwegian city.
From that time, the UN General Assembly has
continuously highlighted the key role of sport in
peace development, recalling and including the
sub-item entitled “Building a peaceful and
better world through sport and the Olympic
ideal” in many resolutions. Also recently, in
prevision of the XXIII Olympic Winter Games
and the XII Paralympic Winter Games, held in
Pyeongchang - Republic of South Korea, in
February 2018, the General Assembly, during
its seventy-second session, welcomed the
cooperation among UN, the Member States and
the specialized agencies, funds and programs,
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 UN Agenda, encouraging
the Olympic and Paralympic movements to
work closely with national and international
sports organizations on the use of sport to this
end, with a view to the next XXXII Olympic
Summer Games and XVI Paralympic Summer
Games, which will be held in Tokyo in 2020.

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