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Refugee athletes invited to participate in Rio Olympics: IOC president

Xinhua, October 27, 2015 Adjust font size:

The best refugee athletes will be invited to participate in the Rio Olympics in 2016, even if they don't have a home country to represent, Thomas Bach, president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), said here Monday.

"Having no national anthem to play for them, these refugee athletes will be welcomed to the Olympic Games with the IOC flag and the IOC anthem," said Bach.

"This will be a symbol of hope for all the refugees in the world," he added. "Sport is always about building bridges, it is never about building walls."

Athletes from the world's newest country, South Sudan, would participate for the first time in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games to be held on Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Bach said, adding that the IOC hopes this will send a signal of hope to a young nation and its people.

Bach made the remarks during a meeting of the UN General Assembly where UN member states adopted a resolution reaffirming the important role that sports and the Olympic games play in fostering global peace.

The resolution urged member states to observe the Olympic truce -- ceasing all conflicts between countries participating in the games from 7 days before the Olympics start until 7 days after they finish.

Nafsika Nancy Eva Vraila, deputy permanent representative of Greece to the United Nations, said the concept of the Olympic truce began 2,800 years ago in Ancient Greece.

"The ideal of truce was of great importance for the revival of the Olympic Games in the modern era as an invaluable tool to advance international understanding and promote world peace," said Vraila.

"We should all find inspiration in next year's Olympic Games and reflect on how sports could be used as useful tool to reduce tensions and build bridges," she said.

Carlos Arthur Nuzman, president of the Brazil Olympic Committee, said the games -- the first Summer Olympic Games to be held in South America -- have opened a gateway to 180 million passionate young people in South America.

"Sport can help build solidarity, better education, social inclusion, understanding, peace and hope for the generations to come," he said.

He added that the 2016 games will involve 50,000 volunteers and that 11 million students will be involved through an accompanying education program.

The resolution also recognized the important role of sport in sustainable development.

"World leaders recognize sport as an important enabler of sustainable development as envisioned in the 2030 agenda for sustainable development," said Lundegiin Purevsuren, minister of foreign affairs of Mongolia.

The 2030 agenda for sustainable development was adopted by world leaders here in September 2015. It includes the sustainable development goals -- a set of 17 economic, social and environmental goals for all UN member states to achieve by 2030. Enditem