Remarks by the President of the General Assembly
H.E. Ms. Annalena Baerbock
at the Plenary Meeting on Sport for development and peace: building a peaceful and better world through sport and the Olympic ideal
19 November 2025
[As delivered]
Dear Kirsty Coventry, President of the International Olympic Committee
And, frankly as a former trampoline gymnast who always dreamt of participating in the Olympic Games, I would also like to say also dear Double Olympic Champion in Swimming,
Dear Giovanni Malago, President of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
The Olympic Truce, both in its ancient origins and its modern form, calls on nations to lay down arms and allow athletes to travel and compete.
This embodies an enduring principle: even in times of division, humanity can still find common ground through sport and an enduring hope: that through friendly competition we can rise above our divisions and reaffirm our common humanity.
It is a living metaphor of what peace requires: discipline, restraint, respect, the courage to see an opponent not as an enemy, but as a partner in a shared endeavour, and sport underlines most of all, that everyone has to play by the rules, even the strongest and fastest among us, in order to become a true champion.
We have seen these principles play out on fields and on courts, on rinks and in pools for generations.
Every Olympic cycle invites us to imagine what our politics would look like if politicians, governments, and Heads of State carried those same principles off the field.
Sport teaches lessons that remain relevant far beyond the arena.
That not winning a game does not mean you’re a loser, but it’s just the preparation for further success.
Sport shows how reconciliation can take root when people meet each other with respect and fairness.
And imagine what the world would look like if it was more like a soccer field, where it does not matter the colour of your skin, what your parents earn, who you love, or which God you believe in, but what only counts is if you can shoot a corner and that your team has your back.
That is the very spirit encapsulated in the Olympic ideal – the spirit of being Better Together.
This spirit of this, our 80th Session of the General Assembly.
Of course, sport not only unites people in peace; it also drives progress in development.
- Consider the Open Fun Football Schools initiative, which, in the 1990’s, brought together more than 150,000 children from across ethnic lines, transforming former frontlines into playing fields.
- Or the Sports for Development programme, which in 2015 engaged young, conflict-affected people in Colombia to rebuild confidence and community through play.
- Or the football matches organized by the Peace and Sport organisation in 2019 to foster dialogue between Turkish and Greek Cypriot communities.
Sport in all its diversity – such as PE in schools and kindergartens, and sports clubs in every neighbourhood are tools for advancing health, education, equality, and inclusion across communities worldwide.
The World Health Organization estimates that physical inactivity causes five million preventable deaths each year.
Healthy living directly supports SDG 3 on good health and well-being, while also strengthening social bonds and community resilience.
Sport also opens doors to opportunity, giving hope to children in conflict zones, in refugee camps, and in desperate parts of the world including slums.
And it is also a strong driver of empowerment of women and girls and for persons living with disabilities.
When the Canadian women’s hockey team won gold in Sochi, in 2014, the message to the men’s team was this: “Play like girls”.
Each milestone on the field of play brings us closer to genuine gender equality in sport.
But not only in sport, I cited here also when celebrating the Beijing 30th Anniversary for women and girls’ rights, how often girls still today and sometimes even women in politics hear, “you speak like a girl”, “you run like a girl”.
So the answer of the Canadian women’s hockey team was clear – it means fast, and strong like girls.
And in this spirit I congratulate the host country, Italy – the Milan–Cortina 2026 Winter Games are on track to be the most gender-balanced in history, with women expected to make up 47 percent of athletes, up from 45.4 percent in Beijing in 2022.
Knowing that teams are strongest when they embrace the full range of diversity.
That same spirit of inclusion must extend beyond the podium—to schools, community fields, and policymaking spaces that ensure every girl, boy, woman, and man can participate fully and safely.
When sport empowers everyone equally, it strengthens the foundations of sustainable and inclusive development for generations to come.
Let us therefore harness the transformative power of sport to advance sustainable development, human rights, and peace and security.
The Olympic spirit reminds us that fair competition can elevate humanity, that dialogue can overcome division, and that every athlete’s journey reflects the enduring resilience of the human spirit.
The resolution before this Assembly carries that same principle.
It calls on all nations to uphold the Olympic Truce as a moral compass—a call for ceasefire, for dialogue, and for renewed cooperation during and beyond the Winter Games.
May its implementation reaffirm our shared conviction that even in a divided world, unity remains possible, and respect for our common rules means that we all win.
So, we should remember—not only when cheering for the next Olympic medal at the beginning of next year, but also when you vote on the next resolutions in this hall—that playing by the rules is the life insurance for all of us.
United Nations
New York, US