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The U.N. and the Olympics: Teammates Going for the Gold

1On 8 December 2016, Professor Hugh Dugan presented to Seton Hall students and faculty about the Truce Foundation of the USA and the Olympic Movement. Hugh Dugan spoke about the ways the United Nations Organization works with non-governmental organizations to promote peace, development, and human rights. He discussed how the UN and the International Olympic Committee have set high goals and reached new heights – and not just during the Olympic Games.

About Professor Hugh Dugan:

Hugh Dugan served as a US Delegate to the United Nations from 1989-2015.  Within his brief was the UN initiative to partner with sport for development and peace.  The International Olympic Committee awarded him its Centenary Medal in 2004 for his role in reviving the ancient Olympic Truce for the modern era through the United Nations General Assembly. Hugh Dugan is a Sharkey Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Fellow, Seton Hall University School of Diplomacy and International Relations.

Professor Dugan’s presentation gave listeners a sense of continuity about the Olympic Movement. They learned that the first games took place in 776 BC, and that they continue through the centuries into modern times with the most recent Games held in Rio in 2016.

Hugh Dugan: The first games started as one foot race. There were no second places. So, there was a winner and everyone else was almost too ashamed to go back home for not being the first. While they were running, they were running to honor Zeus. This was sacred grounds where Zeus was known to reside nearby. The first to arrive safely along the pass through the city states was a symbolic pilgrimage. Once there, a festival took place and the symbolic race on the track was a reflection of this pilgrimage. And to be the first across a line, was to earn Zeus’ favor for life. Almost become godlike as well.

Modern sports are being introduced during modern Olympic Games. Almost every year, a new sport is included into the Games. Taekwondo is relatively recent addition. Surfing is soon going to be added as an Olympic sport.

Hugh Dugan: The Olympic movement is the oldest movement yet in existence. Movement means it is moving from point “A” to point “B”, which means it has to be safe along its path. That one does not move in dangerous ways, or move does not move. The principal of the Olympic Movement was that there would be safe passage to and from the games and safe participation. The antient Olympic Truce Foundation was established by the antient states to enable safe passage for everybody to pass through the states safely to get to the sacred Olympic Grounds in Olympia. Without the Olympic Truce, there would be no movement. The Olympic Truce is not considered a part of the Olympic. That is the whole point. That is why the ceremonial procession to the stadium has far more significance than we realize. As much as it is a sporting event, it is a cultural event as well. The whole purpose of the Olympic movement is education. It is educating the youth of the world through sport and culture. That is why the cultural elements are on display during the Opening Ceremony. There is always an attempt to make them more obvious throughout the Games as well, not just during the Opening and Closing.

Professor Dugan shared an Olympic Truce video with the audience. It shows a man walking through a building with a gun. He exits into a stadium where he shoots the gun to symbolize the start of the Olympic Games.

Hugh Dugan: The message of the Olympic Movement is peace through sport. The principles that guided the games are the same today as those as the antient times. The idea is the philosophy known as olympism. Olympism is a philosophy of life that seeks to harmonize human activity toward peaceful purposes with the idea that we have a better and more peaceful world through sport and the Olympic ideal.

With that in mind, the Olympic Movement came to New York in 1993 and went “knocking on the doors” of the United Nations. Because they had an idea that, perhaps, the ancient Olympic Truce, which not had been formerly revived as head of the games in 1894 needed to be revived for very practical purposes. They wanted to use the cover of the Olympic Games to enable delivery of medicine and assistance to children in Bosnia. The war was raging and the place was in desperate need of humanitarian assistance. The Olympic Movement, is also known as a humanitarian movement, came to the UN seeking some type of opportunity to normalize the idea that the Olympic Truce can be brought out and provide some cover for activities, such as going into a war zone and attending to the needs of the people there. The did go into the war zone and helped about 40,000 children and youth who received treatment. The people in that region helped put aside their tension for that time-frame. Nobody was harmed. The idea of the Olympic Truce was articulated in the antient times. It was scribed on the discus and kept in the sacred temple of Hera on the grounds. In the modern era, it brings the opportunity for countries to come together and compete on same terms. Enable the type of aura about community that allowed this phenomenon to occur, where there was a safe passage for those delivering assistance, not just for the athletes participating in games.

So, they came “knocking on the doors” of the United Nations and the timing was right because we have just been through a cataclysmic-type of event where the Soviet Union disappeared and all sorts of the opportunities for the collaboration were becoming evident. The opportunity for a non-profit non-governmental organization to come forward seemed to make sense. The United Nations organization in general became more open to non-profit, non-governmental organizations at that time. The civil society came to realize there was an opening and there was a chance to be heard at the UN.

One of the first tasks was the Olympic overture. The rings are very powerful calling card. They are the most recognizable symbol on Earth, more than any religious symbols. They are known throughout the world, in countries large and small. Some claim that it is the world’s largest movement. So, it was not that hard for them to promote their agenda at the UN. It is proven very useful because concept of the Olympic Truce was quickly grasped. It became the most successful resolution in the UN history. The most co-sponsored every two years. It calls for safe passage and participation. The fact that sport has the ability to promote development and peace in the world, really took root. And soon enough, there was a new initiative at the United Nations every two years to discuss the potential of sport through development and peace. On the odd year, we have a resolution promoting the Olympic Truce for the next Games. The other day, we just had a discussion in the General Assembly to promote the idea of sport for development and peace. Not elite sport, where the very finest athletes competing, but bringing sport to every level of society for the benefits it can provide and promotion of the UN Charter. Specifically, it calls for security and peace, and development, and human rights. So, for the last twenty years, we have been trying to elaborate on the idea of how to bring sport into the equation. And recognize when it does good things. For instance, when the games were held in Beijing. Beijing wanted to host the games for many years, but they were not awarded the games. Essentially, it is a political reason why these decisions are made by the International Olympic Committee. Eventually, when China was awarded the games, they had to oblige all of the conditions. One of these conditions was to host the Paralympic Games following the Olympic Games. This was a problem in the past, when China resisted this idea in the past and ended up not being awarded. This time, they agreed to fulfil this condition. Paralympic Games usually take place about two weeks after the Olympic Games Closing. By all anecdotes, it legitimized the status of people in that society who are not as able as the rest of us. They came forward, they were heroic in what they could do. They did not just go across the finish line, they were heroic. This had a strong effect in Chinese society. There was not quite a stigma attached to those who are not quite as able-bodied as others. This continues to the extend that Beijing was awarded to host 2022 Winter Olympic Games, as well.  These are the subtle things that can happen through sport. It’s because there’s something else at work, other than just the competition.

There is a communication of intercultural nature, international nature. It is an international law at work in very practical ways right in front of our eyes. Where everybody is agreeing to the same terms and are participating on the same basis. If they are doping, they get caught. It is not tolerated in sport. In sport, the international law is really evident, strong and enforced. It is a model for the rest of us in other realms of the international society. We all agree on the starting line, the uniforms, terms of the race, referees, rules. These are just the two examples (the Beijing example and the International law example) where we realize that there is something else at work in international sport. Especially the ones sponsored by Olympics, because they are principal-driven and not profit-driven. There is something about what the Olympic sport has done to partner with the UN Organization.

In fulfillment of the Charter since the fall of the Soviet Union, the ambition of the world, the expectations are so enormous. The Charter is so wide. One can’t expect the Organization with 18 acres on East River to deliver all of this, to operationalize it, to make it all work and happen. We are now realizing, we have to get others in the world community to mobilize resources and to partner with us, on behalf of the Charter. We are working with stakeholders in the world society who are not seated at the UN necessarily to agree to partner with the principles of the UN to promote the Charter.

The Olympic Movement has done that with the UN and both parties really feel that “the Olympic principles are the United Nations principles”, according to the former Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon. “The two are joining forces for ideals, sustainability, universality, solidarity, non-discrimination and the fundamental equality for all people.”

Hugh Dugan: The Olympic Charter and the UN Charter have a great deal in common. The idea that sport can promote peace, development, understanding, education is much appreciated. It needs support in funding and resources. They are enormously powerful movements: the UN Movement and the Olympic Movement, and yet, it (the Olympic Movement) got one small office in Secretariat on volunteer contributions. Without maintaining that momentum, we could lose a great deal of the ground that we have enjoyed a lot the last twenty years. Those of us who follow it, are trying to identify resources. The Sustainable Development Goals that were adopted in 2015 and the documentation to support this argument are strong.

“Sport is also an important enabler of sustainable development. We recognize the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect, and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and of young people, individuals and communities as well as health, education and social inclusion objectives”, Declaration of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Hugh Dugan: Just to be anecdotal again, in post-conflict situations, former civilian combatants are often competing in some type of local soccer tournament. Soccer ball does wonderful things in refugee camps. It structures lives, it structures routines for hundreds of people, for families. When girls are allowed to play sport, it sends a big message that they are capable. There was a tournament arranged in a refugee camp, where girls were not allowed to do much of anything. They were invited to play, thanks to groups who came to organize this, they could play with the boys on the boys’ team, but the boys team could only score a goal if a girl kicked the ball into a net. Otherwise, the team would not be able to score at all. Very soon, they started passing a ball to the girls. These are subtle, yet, powerful things that happen in youth and grassroots areas, where sport can be a leverage for international understanding.

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The International Olympic Committee awarded Professor Dugan its Centenary Medal in 2004 for his role in reviving the ancient Olympic Truce for the modern era through the United Nations General Assembly.

Hugh Dugan: Another example is the opportunity for a weekend 5K in Kenya. A friend of mine, Tegla Loroupe, an internationally well-known marathoner, began peace walks and peace runs for the last ten years. Now, around 10,000 people show up for these events, including the mayor, local councilmen, people from all over the region. They come for these marathons, they meet one another, they have a 5k/ 10k marathon, but aside from that afterwards they have a large open-air discussion area where youth can discuss prevention of infectious disease in the area. At the same time, people in another area would share food that they brought together. These are remarkable opportunities, people look forward to them as a chance to meet friends, and to overcome default mechanisms in their lives that create tension. Tegla was named to run refugee team at the US Olympic Games. She is probably going to take a Nobel Prize one day for her work. These are things with powerful outcomes. The UN very much recognizes this and sport recognizes it to the extent that the UN invited the International Olympic Committee to sit as a full Observer in the General Assembly about 8 years ago. This is a recognition of the role of sport in the world, it also speaks well for the future in terms of looking for opportunities to bring sport into the picture to help youth, to help persons with disabilities, to promote human rights. The UN Human Rights Committee is also taking up resolutions promoting sport. Last year, they had a resolution that talked about everyone’s need of human right to be openly engaged in recreation and sporting activity. It can sound optional here, but in many societies, you need a permission by the state, by authorities to participate in sport. Every other country I know have a Ministry of Sport that is governmental organization that decides where the resources go and who may play. It can be a very politicized thing in the world. We do not have such organization in the United States. Instead, we have let the private sector (Universities, local leagues) to business, to run and minister sport in the society. This is a learning opportunity for the US as well.

The role of sport is recognized and advocated as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) fulfillment. Each of the SDGs can be affiliated with some element of sport for their promotion. There is almost no place where sport couldn’t be found as a means. It is not a solution or a panacea, but so many of us, youth as well know the value.

  1. No poverty
  2. Zero Hunger
  3. Good Health and Well-Being
  4. Quality Education
  5. Gender Equality
  6. Clean Water and Sanitation
  7. Affordable and Clean Energy
  8. Decent Work and Economic Growth
  9. Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
  10. Reduced Inequalities
  11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
  12. Responsible Consumption and Production
  13. Climate Action
  14. Life Below Water
  15. Life on Land
  16. Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
  17. Partnerships for the Goals

Hugh Dugan: Sport is a Mega-Event and the Olympics are not awarded to the country, unless a country demonstrates its environmental impact. Especially the intentions to return the environment netter than they found it. It is a key decision in awarding the Games now as well. That was not always the case.

The humanitarian nature of the Olympic Movement is underappreciated. It was always operating out of a shoebox. They figured it out that the entering and the distribution rights through each country’s networks is the way to go. Now it turned into an extremely lucrative enterprise. The television rights drive 80% of its revenue, but they return 80% of it or more to athletes in countries all over the world to enable participation. This includes to enable athletes to get equipment, send coaches and, in some cases, send food. There were some bobsledders coming from former Yugoslavia who didn’t have a good diet and they were underweight. Every day, the Olympic Movement $ 3.5 million somewhere in the world. Every day of the year, all year round. They do it to promote “Olympic solidarity”, to enable athletes to get the training, equipment, coaching. It is quite a remarkable thing to enable this tournament of tournaments to take place and to keep the Olympic ideal alive.

Related content:

Sport: an anchor of stability in a fragile world, by Thomas Bach, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

The Truce Foundation of the USA website.

The Truce Foundation of the USA on Twitter https://twitter.com/OlympicTruce

The International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, on April 6 of each year.

This presentation was recorded by Vera Dimoplon. Vera is a graduate student at the Seton Hall School of Diplomacy and International Relations. Her specializations are International Organizations, Global Negotiations and Conflict Management. Vera’s interests are the operation of international organizations in multilateral community, negotiations among multinational actors, and conflict management.

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