United Nations Appeal for Olympic Truce New York - February 9, 2006

Calling on all nations to respect and observe the Olympic Truce during the 17-day celebration of the XX Olympic Winter Games in Torino, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan cited the fundamental values and ideals shared by both the Olympic Movement and the United Nations - tolerance and understanding, equal opportunity and fair play, and most of all, peace. "In a world growing ever closer and more interconnected, and yet still riven by brutal conflict, dire poverty and cruel injustice, it is more important than ever that we all join forces to give life to those ideals." "One way we can do that is to observe the Olympic Truce - the call for warring parties to lay down their arms while athletes from the community of nations meet under the noble flame of the Olympic torch" "While limited in duration and scope, the Olympic Truce can offer a neutral point of consensus, a window of time to open a dialogue, a pause to provide relief to a suffering population. Over the years, a great deal of support has been voiced worldwide for the concept of the Truce. The challenge before us is to ensure that it has as many practitioners as it has supporters on paper. " United Nations General Assembly President Jan Eliasson noted that "the Olympic Movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for humankind through the educational value of sport. It brings together athletes of the world in the greatest of international sports events, the Olympic Games, and it aims to promote the maintenance of peace, mutual understanding and goodwill – goals it shares with the United Nations."

	United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan Visits IOC President Château de Vidy, Lausanne - January 24, 2006 United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan met today with IOC President Jacques Rogge at the IOC's headquarters in Lausanne, his first visit to Chateau de Vidy. The 191 member states of the United Nations General Assembly passed the Olympic Truce resolution, entitled “Building a Peaceful and Better World Through Sport and the Olympic Ideal” last November. During the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games which open February 10th, all participants are to be invited to sign the declaration in favour of the Olympic Truce, on the “Olympic Truce Wall” in the Athletes Village. The IOC President thanked Mr Annan for his continuous support of the Olympic Truce, and other collaborative initiatives between the IOC and various UN agencies, to promote education, health care (particularly the prevention of HIV/AIDS), environmental issues and the role of women in sport and society. The UN Secretary-General also toured the Olympic Museum. ________________________ Photo: (c) IOC/S. Romeu > BACK