Since its revival in 1993,Israel and North Korea are usually the only countries not to sign the truce. But the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday passed the resolution without the support of 20 countries.
None of the “Quad” members – United States,India,Australia and Japan – sponsored the resolution,and New Zealand was the only country in the Five Eyes intelligence-sharing network,comprising Australia,NZ,Canada,the United Kingdom and the US,to sign the truce.
As a majority Muslim country,Turkey’s decision not to co-sponsor the resolution has been noted given China’s treatment of Muslim Uighurs in the far-western province of Xinjiang.
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The resolution called on all member states to “harness the power of sport to advance the world by fostering an atmosphere of peace,development,resilience,tolerance and understanding”.
Multiple Australian and US government sources,who are not authorised to speak publicly,confirmed the Biden administration was likely to announce some form of diplomatic boycott of Beijing 2022 as early as next week. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is weighing up a similar move.
A diplomatic boycott would involve not sending a delegation of officials to the Winter Olympics in February but allowing athletes to participate. It would be aimed at protesting against China’s human rights record across a number of fronts amid mounting concern for Ms Peng’s welfare.