Russia Reluctantly Rewords Olympic Truce to Appease UN on Gays

The NYT reports on wrangling over verbiage in a resolution called the Olympic Truce, adopted every two years. The Russians, of course, made no mention of sexual orientation in a submitted draft which promised to include “people of different age, sex, physical capacity, religion, race and social status." 

The NYT reports:

United Nations representatives from around the world spent weeks pushing Russia to amend the language to include gay people, according to interviews with representatives from eight countries. This week, after extensive negotiations behind the scenes, Russia altered the truce’s language to say that it would “promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind.”

That was enough for all sides to agree that the Olympic Truce was back on track.

Language specifically including sexual orientation or gender identity has never been included, the Times adds:

But this year, with global attention focused on the matter, countries are aiming to set a precedent of inclusion.

“Along with like-minded partners, the United Kingdom is keen to see principles of nondiscrimination included in the Olympic Truce resolution,” said Iona Thomas, a spokeswoman for the United Kingdom Mission to the United Nations.