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United Kingdomâ€™s ambassadors to Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia issue joint statement

18 October 2011 14:08 (UTC +04:00)

The resolution was tabled at the UN General Assembly by the UK, as hosts of the London 2012 Olympic Games. The resolution was adopted in New York on 17 October by consensus. For the first time the resolution has been sponsored by all 193 UN member states, including Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia.
Ambassadors Peter Bateman in Baku and Charles Lonsdale in Yerevan and Charge dâ€™Affaires Doug McMillan in Tbilisi â€“ issued a joint statement saying: â€œWe welcome this resolution - and the fact that it was adopted unanimously. The UK has worked for many years to support peace building and conflict resolution in the South Caucasus. We hope that the ideals the resolution represents can be converted into concrete steps for peace in the region.â€
In ancient Greece the Olympic Games marked a period of peace when competitors and others could travel safely to take part. The International Olympic Committee revived the idea in 1992 to use sports as a means to promote the Olympic ideals and to support peace building and conflict resolution efforts. Similar resolutions have been passed before each Summer and Winter Games. The resolution focuses not just on respecting a truce around the period of the Olympic and Paralympic Games next summer but also on wider efforts to use sport to promote peaceful settlements for conflicts around the world, and achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.