Special
report: 2008 Olympic Games
UNITED NATIONS, Oct. 31 (Xinhua) -- The UN General
Assembly adopted unanimously on Wednesday a resolution which calls for truce
during the Beijing Olympic Games next year.
The resolution, submitted by China and cosponsored by
186 nations, urges member states to observe the Olympic Truce individually and
collectively during the Games of the 29th Olympiad in Beijing and the following
Paralympic Games.
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Jacques Rogge, president of the
International Olympic Committee addresses the General Assembly debate
about Sport for Peace and Development at U.N. Headquarters Wednesday, Oct.
31, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
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The
resolution, entitled "Building a peaceful and better world through sport and the
Olympic ideal," was approved by the 192-member body unanimously.
It urges member states to observe the truce during
the Beijing Olympic Games which will take place from 8 to 24 August 2008, and
the subsequent Paralympic Games in Beijing which will take place from 6 to 17
September 2008.
It welcomes the decision of the International Olympic
Committee(IOC) to mobilize international sports organizations and the National
Olympic Committees of the member states to undertake concrete actions at the
local, national, regional and world levels to promote and strengthen a culture
of peace and harmony based on the spirit of the Olympic Truce.
It also calls on all member states to cooperate with
the IOC in its efforts to use sport as an instrument to promote peace, dialogue
and reconciliation in areas of conflict during and beyond the Olympic Games.
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Liu Qi, President of the Beijing
Organizing Committee of the Olympic Games speaks during the debate about
Sport for Peace and Development at UN Headquarters, Wednesday, Oct. 31,
2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)
Photo
Gallery>>> |
The
Olympic Truce originated from the Olympic truce treaty passed by Greek
city-states participating in the ancient Olympic Games.
The concept of the Olympic Truce was revived by the
IOC in 1992 which relayed it to the United Nations. Since 1993, the UN General
Assembly has appealed for the truce by adopting a resolution one year before
each edition of the Olympic Games.
"With a history of over 1,000 years, the treaty is a
peace accord that has been observed for the longest time in history," said Liu
Qi, president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Beijing Olympiad, to
the assembly.
The resolution not only captures the "quintessential
elements of the previous resolutions but also features the three main concepts
that are at the core of the Beijing Olympic Games, namely, 'Green Olympics,
High-Tech Olympics and People's Olympics,' and their vision to achieve
harmonious development of society," Liu said.
"Sport unites the principles that the Olympic
Movement holds dear -- education, sustainability, nondiscrimination,
universality, humanism and solidarity," IOC President Jacques Rogge told the
General Assembly.
"These are also the principles at the core of the
United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These are the principles that drive
far-reaching social change," Rogge said.
The 2008 Beijing Summer Games will reach one-fifth of
the world's population in China alone, Rogge said.
"It is predicted that four billion people -- the most
ever -- will watch the Beijing Games," Rogge said. "This is a wonderful
opportunity for China and the world to witness the Olympic values in action --
to see first-hand the excellence, friendship and respect that sport brings to
life, to witness the harmony, understanding and peace that sport can
engender."
Beijing going all out to achieve
"Green Olympics"
BEIJING, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- The blue bright
sky Beijing enjoyed over the past days had been mistaken by some foreign
journalists as "a result of government intervention" to polish the city's image
while a significant congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) was going on.
Full story
BOCOG's environmental protection
effort acknowledged
BEIJING, Oct. 29 -- The
7th World Conference on Sport and the Environment on Saturday passed the Beijing
Communiqué on Sport and the Environment and acknowledged the environmental
effort made by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX
Olympiad (BOCOG). Full story
BOCOG reiterates commitment on quality
media
BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua) -- Beijing Olympic
organizers reiterated on Thursday that they will follow Olympic practice and
honor their commitment on media operation to ensure comprehensive and objective
coverage of the 2008 Olympic Games. Full story
Official: Olympic torch bid to scale
world's top on track
BEIJING, Oct. 11 (Xinhua)
-- China's plan to carry the Olympic flame up Mount Qomolongma to mark the
hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing is on track, a top organizing
committee official said on Thursday. Full story
