The IOC seeks to gain an observer seat at the UN General Assembly and increase its voice on the international stage. (Getty Images)The IOC seeks to strengthen its ties with the United Nations by securing an observer seat in the UN General Assembly.
“The IOC has been campaigning for more than a century for the values of peace, dialogue, solidarity and humanity,” IOC spokeswoman Emmanuelle Moreau tells Around the Rings.
“An observer seat in the UN General Assembly would allow the IOC to build synergies and strengthen its partnership with the UN.”
The UN is expected to decide whether to offer a seat to the IOC by the start of September.
Such a role would allow the IOC to have a bigger voice on the international stage, promoting its interests and raising awareness of the Olympic values among the community of nations.
IOC President Jacques Rogge has made it one of his missions to ensure the Olympic Movement’s autonomy is protected amid threats of political intervention by governments worldwide. Gaining observer status would give him the right to speak at UN General Assembly meetings, although the role precludes voting on resolutions.
The assembly includes representation from 192 member states, with more than 70 organizations given observer status including the European Union and Interpol.
Approval of the IOC’s application to the UN would be a bonus to Rogge, who is expected to win another four-year term as IOC chief in elections during the IOC Session in Copenhagen in October.
The 13th Olympic Congress that follows the Session will debate issues relating to the Olympic Movement. Rogge’s failure to take a political stance on China's human rights record ahead of the Beijing Games is said to have irked some of his colleagues so the IOC’s political role may be redefined at the Congress.
The IOC currently works with a range of UN specialized agencies and organizations around the world to benefit young people and the community. It has helped in humanitarian aid efforts in Darfur, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In January 2008, Rogge met UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon in Lausanne, Switzerland and the two leaders agreed on an expanded framework for IOC and UN cooperation. “I am very happy and satisfied by the partnership between the United Nations and the IOC and the way in which we use sport in our common efforts to promote peace, dialogue and reconciliation,” Ban remarked in a statement following the visit.
The two leaders had also met at the UN General Assembly in New York City in 2007 when the Olympic Truce Resolution for the Beijing Olympics was adopted.
IOC Role for Denmark’s Crown Prince?
Denmark’s Crown Prince Frederik is 99 percent certain to gain IOC membership at the IOC Session in Copenhagen in October, according to the Danish Sports Federation Chairman Niels Nygaard.
The Crown Prince is expected to be one of a number of candidates IOC President Jacques Rogge with Crown Prince Frederik at the launch event of the 121st IOC Session and 13th Congress in Copenhagen last October. (ATR)nominated to fill vacancies by the IOC Executive Board.
“Based on the indications we have and the history of the IOC we find it highly likely that the Crown Prince will be on Executive Committee’s list of candidates and that he will be elected,” Nygaard was quoted as saying in Danish media reports.
“IOC President Jacques Rogge has made it clear that the Crown Prince is among the four to seven candidates on the list for Copenhagen. But this will not be formal and final before the IOC Executive Committee makes its nominations,” says Nygaard.
Denmark’s current IOC member, Kai Holm, was more cautious in his reading of the Crown Prince’s IOC ambitions. “Jacques Rogge has said that Crown Prince Frederik is a suitable candidate who would be well-suited as an IOC member. That is as far as we can go right now,” he said.
Rogge confirmed it was the intention to submit the candidature of the Crown Prince at the IOC Session in comments to reporters at the launch event for the Session and Congress in the Danish capital last October.
“He loves sport and knows sport very well. He’s a very good sailor. He would have a perfect profile for the IOC,” said Rogge at the event.
IOC Chief Busy in Lausanne
Rogge met leaders from the Iranian NOC Monday to discuss sports development issues in the country.
Officials from the National Olympic and Sports Association of Iceland visit IOC headquarters Wednesday to hold talks with Rogge about the welfare of the NOC and issues affecting sport in their country. The impact of the global financial crisis, which has hit Iceland hard, is likely to be chief among them.
On Thursday, Rogge will hand out honors at the Women and Sport Awards ceremony at the Olympic Museum. The awards honor personalities who have been outstanding in promoting the participation of women in sport – be it on or off the field of play. They coincide with International Women's Day on March 8.
Each of the five winners, including two Olympians, has contributed to the promotion of women and girls as well as their societies through sport.
Rogge has made women’s participation in sport and their involvement in sports administration one of his priorities. He was pleased that the Beijing Games included just over 42 percent of women’s participation. But the immediate challenge facing the IOC Women and Sport Commission is toThe IOC is working to increase women's involvement in sports organizations. (Getty Images)get more women elected to decision-making positions in sports.
At a forum last month at the European Parliament in Brussels called “Women and Sport: What is at Stake for Europe?”, IOC Executive Board member Nawal El Moutawakel called on the IOC and other sports organizations to increase the numbers of female leaders.
Speaking in a video message, the Olympian and minister of youth and sport for Morocco said the IOC must increase its female membership, which stands at 16 out of 107 members or about 15 percent. The figure is five percent lower than a target set at one time by the IOC Women and Sport Commission.
NBC, ESPN Locked in Bidding War for Caribbean Games
Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee President Larry Romany, the head of the organizing committee for the Caribbean Games, said NBC and ESPN have both expressed interest in acquiring broadcast rights for the inaugural games.
“We are currently in the process of choosing which television network will be better,” Romany said at the opening of the beach volleyball venue. "Obviously both have different markets and therefore we can also think about using both of them.”
Beach volleyball and the men’s 100-meter would be the two most popular sports, according to Romany.
This year’s games will feature a rematch of gold medal winner Usain Bolt of Jamaica and Richard Thompson of host nation Trinidad and Tobago, who finished second to Bolt twice in Beijing. Once in the 100 and the other time in the 4x100-meter relay. Asafa Powell of Jamaica, and former world record holder in the 100, is also expected to compete.
The games will be held July 12 – 19 throughout Trinidad and Tobago. Chaguanas Mayor Surujrattan Rambachan said the borough would be well prepared to host.
“We will do everything in our power to ensure that the games come off successfully,” Rambachan said.
…Briefs
…SportsScotland will invest $175,000 into Team Scotland’s preparations for the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. Louise Martin, chair of SportScotland, said in a statement: "I am delighted to announce this investment in CGS, one of our key partners in delivering high performance sport in Scotland. We are just over two months out from the start of the selection period for the next Commonwealth Games in India, so this is a very exciting time for athletes with aspirations of representing Scotland in Delhi."
With reporting from Mark Bisson.
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