“The fight against doping and, more broadly, the improvement of sport governance must involve a strengthening of cooperation between States Parties, the Council of Europe, Interpol, WADA, IOC and UNESCO. A cooperation, which we hope, will bring the seeds of tomorrow's global governance against doping,” said Getachew Engida, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO, at the opening of the Conference.

More than 300 participants representing over 100 States Parties and observers debated around the sustainability of anti-doping prevention, sport integrity and values education through sport, and discussed means of ensuring efficient monitoring of States Parties’ obligations regarding the Convention.

The Conference endorsed a set of actions aimed at reinforcing the implementation of the Convention. Notably, participants recognized the need to develop operational guidelines of the Convention and a framework of consequences for non-compliance denoted against States Parties not fulfilling their obligations under the Convention. Information sharing between public service agencies and national anti-doping organizations was also encouraged to facilitate investigations.

The outcomes of the independent evaluation of the Convention, and the presentation of the independent review of anti-doping policies in the Russian Federation, were welcomed. Evaluation recommendations include strengthening the governance of the Convention, developing a communication strategy aimed at providing better visibility for the Convention, reinforcing efforts to monitor compliance with the Convention, enabling information-sharing for States Parties, as well as developing a resource mobilization strategy.

Saleh Konbaz Mohammed (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) and Hitesh Patel (United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) were re-elected as Chairperson and Rapporteur, respectively, of the Conference of Parties. The elected Bureau also comprises the Dominican Republic, the Republic of Korea, Romania and Togo as Vice-Chairpersons.

The Conference also focused on the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport, which has supported 218 projects in 108 States Parties over the past decade. The Conference adopted the Fund’s operational plan for the next biennium and discussed about new avenues for investment, particularly an annual fundraising campaign encouraging States Parties to provide regular voluntary contributions of at least 1% of their total contribution to UNESCO’s regular budget. An extensive evaluation of the Fund, including an impact assessment of the initiatives already supported by the Fund, will be undertaken over a ten-month period. It is expected that the evaluation outcomes would contribute to strengthening the Fund’s effectiveness, sustainability and impact in relation to public authorities’ obligations under the Convention.

Cameroon, Chile, China, Italy, Kuwait and the Russian Federation were elected members of the Approval Committee of the Fund for 2018-2019.

The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) participated in an advisory capacity, while other key partners attended as observers, including the Council of Europe (CoE), the European Commission, and various international, regional and national sports organizations.

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UNESCO’s International Convention against Doping in Sport, counting 187 States Parties, is the only global legal framework under which governments address anti-doping issues. The Convention regulates anti-doping legislation, policies, rules, and guidelines. As the in-country, operational arm of the Convention, the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport provides financial support to public authorities for the design and implementation of projects in the fields of anti-doping education, policy advice and capacity-building.

• COP6: more information and documents
• More information on the Convention
• Values Education through Sport
• Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport

Contact: Marcellin Dally, m.dally(at)unesco.org