On the occasion of International Day of Peace held this Wednesday, Efe shares an opinion column written by The President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), Thomas Bach, where he emphasizes that “there is no peace without unity” and that “the Olympic Games can be an example for the world”:
“This year’s International Day of Peace theme ‘End Racism. Build Peace’ is of particular importance to the IOC and the Olympic Movement.
The main idea of the Olympic Games is to unite the whole world in peaceful competition. Peace is at the heart of this mission.
At the Olympic Games, athletes carry out this mission of peace when they put aside the differences that divide the world. They fiercely compete among themselves to achieve success, while living peacefully under the same roof in the Olympic Village. Because of this, the Olympic Games are a powerful symbol of peace.
But peace is more than setting aside differences. It is about creating a better world where everyone can thrive, where people are treated equally and where racism and all forms of discrimination have no place.
Pierre de Coubertin revived the Olympic Games to contribute to peace through sport. He said: ‘We will not have peace until the prejudices that now separate the different races are defeated.’
Non-discrimination is in the DNA of the IOC and the Olympic Games. In the Games, everyone is equal, regardless of race, social origin, gender, sexual orientation, or political beliefs. The principle of non-discrimination is enshrined in the Olympic Charter. Athletes demonstrate this principle during the Olympic Games and inspire thousands of people around the world.
Non-discrimination is not enough to build lasting peace. It’s not enough to respect each other, but you have to go ahead and support each other. We must unite and help. There is no peace without unity.
Unity is the essence of the Olympic Games. That’s why the IOC redistributes 90% of all its revenue to support athletes and the development of sport around the world.
The IOC, driven by our commitment to solidarity, created the first Refugee Olympic Team in history for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games and another for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. For the first time in Olympic Games history, Refugee athletes competed side by side with teams from every other NOC, sending a message of hope and inclusion to all refugees around the world. With no national team to belong to, no flag to parade behind, no anthem to sing and no home to call their own, we welcomed refugee athletes to the Olympic Games with the Olympic flag and song. We gave them a house in the Olympic Village. The Olympic message of this emotional moment is: you are our partners and you enrich our Olympic community.
Today we stand in solidarity with the Ukrainian Olympic community. Everything that applies to Ukraine also applies to other members of our Olympic community. We are a global organization. That’s why we support Olympic communities in Afghanistan, Yemen and many other areas affected by war and conflict around the world.
These solidarity initiatives are also at the core of our commitment to achieving a better understanding between people. In this way, the IOC builds bridges through sport and opens the door for better understanding, peace and reconciliation. This has happened in recent years in many conflict situations, such as in North and South Korea, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Serbia, Kosovo, Israel, Palestine, Iran and many others.
The Games cannot prevent wars or conflicts
The mission of peace and unity is more important than ever at a time when humanity is simultaneously facing so many existential crises.
The Olympic Games cannot prevent wars or conflicts. They cannot meet all the political and social challenges of our world. But they can be an example for a world where everyone respects the same rules and each other.
A new world is being created. We can see now that this new world will be more divided than the present.
This unfortunate trend is completely at odds with our Olympic mission to unite the world in peaceful competition. We know that in these times of division and confrontation, we are not the only ones seeking the unity of humanity. Millions of people around the world yearn for peace. Together with all these people of good will, we want to make our modest contribution to peace by uniting the world in peaceful competition.
To further commit ourselves to this unifying mission of peace, we recently changed our Olympic motto to ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger – Together’.
The word ‘together’ emphasizes the fact that to overcome challenges, whether as individuals, as a community or as humanity, we must stand together.
On the occasion of this International Day of Peace and in the spirit of unity and peace at this Olympic, I emphatically repeat the call to all world political leaders that I made at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, before a global audience of hundreds- hundred million people: ‘Give peace a chance.
(Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee).
Source: La Verdad
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