Statement by H.E. Mher Margaryan, Permanent Representative of Armenia to the United Nations at the UNGA 74 Plenary Meeting, Agenda Items 11 and 15

12 դեկտեմբերի, 2019

Madam President,

I have the honour to introduce draft resolution A/74/L.24 entitled “World Chess Day” under
the agenda items 11: Sport for development and peace and 15: Culture of peace.

The draft resolution designates the 20th of July as a World Chess Day to mark the date of establishment of the International Chess Federation founded in 1924 in Paris.
One of the oldest and most popular mental games in history, chess is an established part of our modern-day culture, as a unique combination of sport, of scientific thinking and of elements of art. The draft resolution that I have the honour to introduce today reflects on the transformative power of chess in helping transcend national boundaries, break down racial, political and social barriers, change perceptions and prejudices, combat discrimination and defuse conflict.
As a global game, which promotes fairness and mutual respect, chess can contribute to an atmosphere of tolerance and understanding among nations by building more bridges and bringing more people together. The draft resolution recognizes the important opportunities offered by chess in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the SDGs, including in strengthening education and health, promoting empowerment of women and girls, fostering solidarity, cooperation and peace through chess as an affordable and inclusive activity.

In Armenia, chess is regarded as an essential part of our culture, with a long-standing tradition of chess that has earned our country with a population of three million people the title of the Olympic and world champion. Today, Armenia has one of the highest numbers of chess grandmasters per capita in the world, having embraced chess as an academic subject at schools.

One of the most important and enduring lessons that chess can offer is teaching respect: it is about respect for rules, respect for players and discipline, but also as much about a continuous quest for progress, with effort and decency. It demonstrates that, on the chess board, skill is the ultimate value, and not the origin or the background of the player.

Madam President,

Armenia is grateful to all the delegations that participated in the process of informalconsultations on the draft resolution for their constructive engagement and we thank the co-sponsors of the resolution for supporting the designation of the World Chess Day as a global platform to foster dialogue, solidarity and culture of peace. While chess originated as a game that modeled a battlefield, today, we come to think of chess as a game that is more closely intertwined with peace, with the concept of a chessboard so often linked to diplomacy and multilateralism.

Designating the World Chess Day by the UN General Assembly provides an importantopportunity to recommit to the intrinsic values that the United Nations and the International Chess Federation share, as reflected in FIDE’s motto of “Gens Una Sumus" (we are one family).

In run-up to the seventy-fifth anniversary of the United Nations, the World Chess Day can
stand as an important platform to celebrate those shared values and to put them at the service of the humanity.

I thank you.

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