Anti-doping The aim of UNESCO’s anti-doping programme is to ensure that all athletes enjoy the right to compete in a clean, honest and equitable environment.

 

Doping jeopardizes the moral and ethical basis of sport and the health of those involved in it. In today’s highly competitive sporting environment, athletes and athlete support personnel are under increasing pressure to do whatever it takes to win. As a result, the use of performance enhancing drugs in sport is becoming more pervasive and insidious.

As the sole United Nations agency with a sport mandate, UNESCO is implementing a three-pronged strategy to tackle the doping problem:

1 - International cooperation: UNESCO developed the International Convention against Doping in Sport, which entered into force on 1 February 2007, so that all countries around the world can apply the force of international law against doping. The Convention provides a framework for harmonizing anti-doping rules and policies worldwide, and to ensure the effectiveness of the World Anti-Doping Code. It calls upon governments to join efforts to strengthen ethics, personal responsibility and integrity in sport.

2 - Education: To successfully eliminate doping from sport, it is imperative to focus on the next generation of athletes. UNESCO is developing anti-doping education and prevention programmes aimed at fostering the fundamental values that underpin sport and at informing young people of the moral, legal and health consequences of doping. It is also preparing a school curriculum guide on anti-doping.

3 - Capacity-building: UNESCO assists governments in the development of national anti-doping programmes and provides policy advice to ensure compliance with the Convention. It is also undertaking research to expand the evidence base to support anti-doping decision-making, particularly in the domain of trafficking, nutritional supplements and the health consequences of doping.

To ensure the effective implementation of this strategy, UNESCO created the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport, made of financial contributions by governments and the private sector.

Photo: © EAA

News

A Conference at UNESCO to examine future of fight against doping  2009-10-21 10:35 am UNESCOPRESS
The Conference of States Parties to the International Convention against Doping in Sport took place at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 26 to 28 October. Unanimously adopted by UNESCO’s General Conference on 19 October 2005, the Convention has already been ratified by 127 States. Approximately 250 government representatives discussed the future of the fight against doping in sport at the conference.
100 Countries ratify Anti Doping Convention  2008-11-13 9:00 am UNESCOPRESS
UNESCO celebrated the signing of the 100th government to the International Convention against Doping in Sport in Paris on 12 November. The Director-General of UNESCO, Koïchiro Matsuura and the Director-General of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), David Howman, together with Jaime Lissavetzky, Spanish State Secretary for Sport, joined Ambassadors from most of the 100 countries that have ratified the Convention to mark the historical milestone.

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