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The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 6 April as the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, as the body’s President hailed the decision a “historic” step in recognizing the power of sport to erase cultural barriers and mobilize people around the world, the UN News Centre reported. 

“Sport can be a powerful handmaiden for peace and reconciliation. It can bring us closer through shared celebration of achievements of universal appeal and attraction,” said Assembly President Vuk Jeremic, adding that ethnic, religious and economic divisions fall by the wayside, along with prejudice, fear and misunderstanding.

“In effortlessly throwing asunder all human barriers, sport is indeed the world’s universal language,” he told the Assembly as he paid tribute to the “broad legacy of achievement” of Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), who was present at the meeting. Also present was Novak Djokovic, who is ranked the world’s number one tennis player and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).