It is unlikely that significant numbers of athletes, if any at all, will make their way to Rio de Janeiro from any of the world’s huge refugee camps, such as those in Jordan dealing with the Syrian crisis.
Advertisement
Until now, refugee athletes were technically not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games because they could not represent the national Olympic committee of their home country. Because they will not have a national anthem or home country’s flag, they will take on the Olympic anthem and flag. United Nations refugee chief Antonio Guterres said earlier this month that more than 500,000 refugees and economic migrants had entered Europe this year, and thousands more were following in their footsteps.
International Olympic Committee has created a 2 million U.S. dollars fund to bring hope through sport to refugees.
“We are assisting high-level refugee athletes to continue their sports careers”, Bach said, according to the AP.
Speaking to the General Assembly in New York on Monday, worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach reiterated the important role that sport and the Olympic ideals can play at the service of society by promoting peace, fair play, tolerance and understanding. Bach said they would be welcome to live in the Olympic Village alongside the other expected 11,000 athletes and play a full part in the Games.
Bahrain Olympic Committee general secretary Abdulrahman Askar will be attending the Association of National Olympic Committees (ANOC) General Assembly this week in Washington. Based on the ancient Olympic truce, it was re-established in 1992 with the aim of protecting athletes and sport, and encouraging peaceful solutions to the conflicts around the world.
Advertisement
The resolution calls for the Olympic Truce to be respected from seven days before the start of the Olympic Games until seven days after the Paralympic Games. He said the Olympic Games were the culmination of this vision and the principle of non-discrimination.
