Canada Takes the Lead in Developing The First World-wide Inter- Governmental Treaty on Anti-doping in Sport
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA, May 31, 2001 -- Secretary of State (Amateur Sport) Denis Coderre today announced that Canada will take the lead in establishing and chairing a working committee to develop the first world-wide inter-governmental treaty on anti-doping in sport. The treaty will serve to coordinate and harmonize governmental action on this issue.Mr. Coderre made the announcement in Cape Town, South Africa, where he was taking part in the third meeting of the International Intergovernmental Consultative Group on Anti-Doping in Sport (IICGADS), an organization established in 1999 to represent governments in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). Mr. Coderre co-chaired the meeting along with representatives from Australia and South Africa.
"Once again, Canada is taking a leadership role in the international fight against doping in sport," said Mr. Coderre." The Canadian initiative to establish an international working committee to develop a treaty will not only allow us to unite forces against doping in sport, but will also help us to ensure the health and integrity of athletes around the world."
The inter-governmental working group will be chaired by Canada and will include government representatives from each of the five continents. The objective of the working group is to develop a framework for review at the next IICGADS meeting, to be held in Kuala Lumpur in the spring of 2002.
The participants in the IICGADS meeting also issued a declaration reaffirming their commitment to the vital role that drug-free sport plays in the well-being of society and the necessity for governments to continue to take measures in the fight against doping in sport. During the meeting, participating countries resolved a number of issues related to government contributions to WADA, future government representation on WADA, and the future direction of IICGADS.
While in South Africa, Mr. Coderre will also take part in a meeting of the executive committee of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), which will be held June 1. Mr. Coderre is a member of the board of WADA and the Americas representative on its executive committee.
Canada is one of five countries bidding to become the location of the permanent headquarters of the WADA. WADA will render its decision on August 21, 2001, in Estonia.
Information:
Akim Thibouthot
Press Secretary
Office of the Secretary of State (Amateur Sport)
(819) 994-9909
CAPE TOWN DECLARATION
ON THE FIGHT AGAINST DOPING IN SPORT
Government ministers and other authorized government officials responsible for the fight against doping in sport within their national jurisdictions met during the third meeting of the International Intergovernmental Consultative Group on Anti-doping in Sport in Cape Town, South Africa, on May 30 and 31, 2001.
The meeting was organized by the Honourable B M Ngconde Balfour, South African Minister for Sports and Recreation, and was co-chaired by the governments of Australia, Canada and South Africa.
The Commitment of Governments in the International Fight Against Doping
The governments/public authorities present at this meeting reaffirmed their conviction that sport without drugs plays a vital role in the well-being of their societies and, consequently, their belief in the necessity for a clear government orientation, by taking measures to fight doping in sport;
Recognizing the important role of governments/public authorities collaborating with national sport organizations to establish and implement national programs encompassing all aspects of the fight against doping;
Recognizing the responsibility of governments/public authorities that must contribute to the effectiveness of the international fight against doping in sports, by cooperating with other governments/public authorities and with the sport movement, notably through the World Anti-doping Agency (WADA);
The participants at the third meeting of the International Intergovernmental Advisory Group on Anti-doping in Sport affirmed their commitment to the international fight against doping in sports in three key areas:
1. Government Contributions to WADA Financing
Recognizing the critical role of WADA in the coordination of the international fight against doping since its creation in November 1999 and recognizing the significant progress made by WADA in the implementation of anti-doping programs;
Reaffirming their previous commitment in Oslo in November 2000, where they agreed to contribute 50% of WADA's annual budget, as of January 1, 2002, and on the condition that WADA develop a strategic plan and implement the necessary collective, financial and administrative non-profit systems for an international organization before March 30, 2001; and
Taking note of WADA's progress in the development of its strategic plan, the participants have agreed to:
1.1. Adopt a financing formula for government contributions that is just and fair and that encourages the governments that are capable of contributing financially, while taking into account each government's economic capacity to pay and each nation's level of participation in international sport events. The financing formula provides that each region will pay the following contributions:
Africa: 0.50%
Americas: 29.00%
Asia: 20.46%
Europe: 47.50%
Oceania: 2.54%
1.2. In agreement with the petition presented in the Oslo Declaration (November 16, 2000), in which WADA was asked to establish a draft five-year budget required for the implementation of its strategic plan;
1.3. The governments/public authorities agree to pay 50% of WADA's approved 2002 budget, in accordance with the agreed-upon distribution of regional contributions above;
1.4. Changes to the WADA budget must be approved by the WADA Board once a year;
1.5. The governments/public authorities confirm their ability to make their payments to WADA once a year, in accordance with the agreed-upon distribution of contributions;
1.6. WADA's provisional five-year budget must be reviewed, and will be examined at the meeting of the IICGADS, in 2002, so that the governments/public authorities can determine the implications for their next budgets;
1.7. WADA should be encouraged to obtain additional revenues by offering its services, through partnerships or additional subsidies;
1.8. WADA must be encouraged to conduct its business with caution and in an economical manner;
1.9. That each region will take its own measures in remitting government contributions to WADA, taking into account that certain regions will pay their contributions through intergovernmental organizations, while others will pay WADA in an individual way, in accordance with the following principles:
1.8.1 The governments/public authorities and intergovernmental organizations from Africa, the Americas and Europe will make their annual contributions to WADA through agreed-upon regional mechanisms;
1.8.2 The governments/public authorities of Asia will contribute individually and will seek to facilitate payments within the Asian region and will encourage other Asian governments to make contributions;
1.8.3 Australia and New Zealand will be partners to facilitate the payment of contributions from Oceania;
1.9 The regional financing formula will apply for the duration of WADA's 2001-2005 Strategic Plan.
2. Future Representation of Governments within WADA
Reaffirming the declaration made by governments/public authorities in Sydney and confirmed in Montreal and Oslo, and by which the governments/public authorities have agreed to collaborate with WADA in the international fight against doping;
The participants have reaffirmed the principles listed in the Montreal Declaration (February 18, 2000), and that should underlie government representation on the WADA Board and the Executive Committee. The participants have notably agreed that:
1.1 Government representation from the geographic regions of Africa, Europe, the Americas, Asia and Oceania must continue;
1.2. Each region is responsible for choosing delegates from the said region to the WADA Board;
1.3. The governments/public authorities will ensure the rotation of seats within the WADA Board and the Executive Committee within the region, in accordance with the provisions made to that effect in their regions;
Taking note that the mandate of the:
- Government representatives on the WADA Board and the Executive Committee in Montreal expires on December 31, 2001; and
- Government representation on the WADA Board established in the creation of WADA, on November 11, 1999, expires November 10, 2002;
Recognizing the greater effectiveness of international initiatives against doping that result from collaboration between governments/public authorities and the Olympic Movement, working together within the WADA Board and the Executive Committee and acting through WADA committees;
Recognizing the need to represent the geographic and cultural diversity of the world's regions in a more effective manner, the participants have agreed to recommend to WADA that:
2.4. WADA accept that the governments and public authorities be allocated 21 seats on the WADA Board; 5 of these seats being reserved for Europe, the Americas and Asia; 4 seats for Africa; and 2 seats for Oceania;
2.5. Four additional seats be allocated to the Olympic Movement to ensure that parity is maintained between the Olympic Movement and the public authorities in the representation; there should also be plans to provide seats for elements of the sport movement that are not currently represented on the Board, such as para-Olympic sport; and
f. For the implementation of the above, we recommend that the WADA Board make an amendment to the WADA statutes, allowing for an increase in the number of Board members.
Keeping in mind the principles of government representation described above, the participants have agreed that:
g. Governments/public authorities from each region will consult one another through regional means regarding their representatives for the period beginning January 1, 2001, and will notify WADA of the representatives that have been appointed to the WADA Board before December 31, 2001;
h. The government members appointed to the WADA Board will exercise their mandate for a period of three years, beginning January 1, 2002; and
I. Before December 31, 2001, the governments from each region will appoint a government member to represent their region within the Executive Committee for a period of one year, beginning January 1, 2002.
3. Future of the IICGADS Forum
Whereas there exists various bilateral and multilateral intergovernmental agreements on which collaboration in the fight against doping is based and whereas particularly there exists continental forums devoted to the fight against doping, such as the Anti-doping Agreement (organized by the Council of Europe) and the Organization of American States;
Recognizing how important it is that government/public authorities work in cooperation with the Olympic Movement to advance the international fight against doping through WADA;
Accepting the importance of cooperation between governments in several other areas of government responsibility that do not fall directly under WADA statutes, such as harmonization of sports rules and government legislation;
Reaffirming the importance of current consultations between governments/public authorities on issues involving the fight against doping, and taking note that the IICGADS forum is the most geographically extensive mechanism that brings together governments/public authorities from around the world to conduct discussions regarding the fight against doping.
The participants agreed that the IICGADS forum should meet again to promote the general support activities of WADA, the next meeting dealing with issues such as:
a. The progress made by governments in regards to the implementation of effective programs in the fight against doping, including the elements of the commitment in an anti-doping policy, drug tests, education, research and the reduction in the circulation of illegal drugs defined in the Sydney Communiqué;
b. Reviewing the progress made in the harmonization of policies and anti-doping legislation; and
c. Reviewing the progress made in the harmonization of regulation policies regarding the availability of supply, border checks and product labelling; and
d. Reviewing WADA's five-year budget, so that governments can review the budget and determine the implications for their next budgets.
e. The creation of a working group to examine the mechanisms for calling the next meetings of the IICGADS.
The participants agreed look into the possibility of an international treaty to facilitate cooperation between governments and harmonization in order to provide their support for WADA's role.
The participants have proposed that the Government of Malaysia organize the fourth meeting of the IICGADS Forum, which will focus on this agenda at a date that has not yet been determined. The Government of Malaysia accepted this suggestion. The participants thanked the Government for having accepted to organize the meeting.
The participants thanked the Government of South Africa for having hosted the meeting and for its warm hospitality. The governments/public authorities look forward to meeting again in Malaysia, in 2002.
Cape Town, South Africa
May 31, 2001
Participants:
Australia
Austria
Barbados
Belgium
Canada
Czech Republic
Denmark
Finland
France
Holland
Hungary
Italy
Japan
Latvia
Lithuania
Malaysia
Mauritius
Morocco
New Zealand
Nigeria
Norway
Pakistan
People's Republic of China
Poland
Portugal
Republic of Korea
Russia
Slovakia
South Africa
Spain
Sweden
United Kingdom
United States
In the presence of the Council of Europe, the European Commission and the World Anti-doping Agency.
[ Media Room ]
