The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution on the Olympic Truce during the Winter Games and the Paralympics in Pyeongchang on Monday in New York after a two-hour debate.
In addition to South Korea, North Korea also agreed to host the next games: Japan (Tokyo 2020), China (Beijing 2022), France (Paris 2024) and the USA (Los Angeles 2028).
The resolution calls for the establishment of the Olympic Truce as from seven days before the start of the Olympic Games on 9 December. February 2018 until seven days after the end of the Paralympic Games on 18 February 2018. March. This resolution has a special, very personal significance for the athletes who will be meeting in Pyeongchang for the Winter Olympics,”said Thomas Bach, the German IOC President, in New York.
With this resolution on the Olympic Truce, Bach said, the UN General Assembly is creating the conditions for athletes to be able to compete in peace “Only the UN member states can guarantee the athletes a safe journey to the Olympic Games. They enable them to fulfill their life’s dream. The Olympic athletes show the whole world that it is possible to compete with each other and live peacefully together under one roof,”continued the head of the International Olympic Committee.
However, less than 90 days before the opening ceremony of the Winter Games in South Korea, this peace seems to be more threatened than it has been for a long time now in the history of the Olympic Games. The conflict with US President Donald Trump has intensified in recent months following the unauthorised missile tests by North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.
The Korean neighbours China in the north and Japan in the south are also extremely concerned about the politically explosive situation. Pyeongchang is only 80 kilometers from the border to the north.
The term Olympic peace goes back to an almost 2900 year old idea of Greek tribes, who wanted to secure the Olympic Games in ancient times. The first modern-day Olympic Games were held in Athens in 1896.