30 September 2024 – The importance of the Olympic Games in promoting a culture of peace was highlighted by Laura Chinchilla, International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member and former President of Costa Rica, at the “Leadership for Peace” high-level open debate of the United Nations (UN) Security Council in New York, USA, last week.

The President of the UN Security Council, Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, had invited the IOC to the “Leadership for Peace” debate in a bilateral meeting with IOC President Thomas Bach in New York. Slovenia currently holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council. Addressing the Council on 26 September, as part of the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item, Mrs Chinchilla said: “The Olympic Games are the only event that brings the entire world together in peaceful competition. The Olympic athletes, while competing fiercely against each other, are living at the same time peacefully together under one roof. The Olympic Games cannot create peace. But the Olympic Games create a culture of peace that inspires the world.”

She also referred to the recent Olympic Games Paris 2024 as a striking example: “We managed to bring the entire world together amid the challenges of the far too many wars and conflicts that divide nations of this world.”

“We eventually managed to have the athletes from the territories of all 206 National Olympic Committees and the IOC Refugee Olympic Team competing in Paris,” she continued. “These athletes came together to make a powerful call for peace. They respected each other, with no incident or discrimination whatsoever – even if their countries are at war. This is the culture of peace we create with the Olympic Games.

“The powerful message of peace resonated globally, reaching over half the world’s population, and reminding us all of the significance of leadership for peace in our divided world.”

Laura Chinchilla, International Olympic Committee IOC Member and former President of Costa Rica

This contribution to peace by the Games had been further reinforced during the IOC President’s stay at the UN in New York last week, where he held discussions with more than 30 heads of state and heads of government and received congratulations for the success of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 and their resounding message of peace and solidarity.

He also thanked the leaders personally for their support for the inclusion of sport as an important enabler for the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the Pact for the Future, adopted by the 193 UN Member States on 22 September.