Russia's Olympics Statement Mentions 'Inclusion'; Will It Help?

The Olympic Truce, a statement of international goodwill, says Russia 'will promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind.'

Trudy Ring

Trudy Ring is The Advocate’s senior politics editor and copy chief. She has been a reporter and editor for daily newspapers and LGBTQ+ weeklies/monthlies, trade magazines, and reference books. She is a political junkie who thinks even the wonkiest details are fascinating, and she always loves to see political candidates who are groundbreaking in some way. She enjoys writing about other topics as well, including religion (she’s interested in what people believe and why), literature, theater, and film. Trudy is a proud “old movie weirdo” and loves the Hollywood films of the 1930s and ’40s above all others. Other interests include classic rock music (Bruce Springsteen rules!) and history. Oh, and she was a Jeopardy! contestant back in 1998 and won two games. Not up there with Amy Schneider, but Trudy still takes pride in this achievement.

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Trudy Ring

September 15 2013 1:25 PM EST

November 17 2015 5:28 AM EST

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Russian officials have agreed to alter a symbolic statement called the Olympic Truce in an effort to address the controversies surrounding its hosting of next year's Winter Games, but it may do little to assuage concerns about the nation's antigay climate and policies.

Russia's rough draft of the statement had "mentioned a promise to include 'people of different age, sex, physical capacity, religion, race and social status,'" but did not include LGBT people, The New York Times reports. This week, after extensive negotiations with United Nations representatives from several countries, Russia agreed to language saying "that it would 'promote social inclusion without discrimination of any kind,'" according to the Times. The U.N. will vote on the truce in the next few weeks.

Previous truce statements had not mentioned LGBT people either, but there were special concerns about Russia because of its recently passed law banning so-called gay propaganda and numerous incidents of violence against LGBT people in the country.

Several U.N. diplomats praised the result; Greece's Iakovos Iakovidis, for one, called it "a very good outcome." But, as the Times notes, "the resolution is a good-will gesture that carries little weight in the real world."