UN General Assembly president makes solemn appeal for Olympic Truce during Beijing Games

The UN General Assembly holds a plenary session at the UN headquarters in New York on Jan. 20, 2022. UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid on Thursday made a solemn appeal for commitment to the Olympic Truce during the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in Beijing, capital of China. (Loey Felipe/UN Photo/Handout via Xinhua)

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 20 (Xinhua) -- UN General Assembly President Abdulla Shahid on Thursday made a solemn appeal for commitment to the Olympic Truce during the 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to be held in Beijing, China.

"As president of the General Assembly at its 76th session, I solemnly appeal to all member states to demonstrate their commitment to the Olympic Truce for the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games Beijing 2022 and 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 Truce," Shahid told a plenary session of the General Assembly, which took note of his appeal.

"I also call upon all warring parties of current armed conflicts around the world to boldly agree to true mutual cease-fires for the duration of the Olympic Truce, thus providing an opportunity to settle disputes peacefully," he said.

The General Assembly adopted a resolution last month to urge UN member states to observe the Olympic Truce throughout the period from the seventh day before the start of the Beijing Winter Olympics until the seventh day following the end of the Winter Paralympic Games.

The Olympic movement aspires to contribute to a peaceful future for all humankind through the educational value of sport, in particular youth, said Shahid. "The games will bring together athletes from all parts of the world in the greatest of international sports events as a means to promote peace, mutual understanding and goodwill among nations and peoples -- goals that are also part of the founding values of the United Nations."

The Olympic Truce is a tradition that dates back to ancient Greece in the eighth century B.C. The practice was revived in the 1990s.