The sixth edition of the World Conference on doping in sport, organised in the city of Busan, Republic of Korea, has gathered athletes and around 1,500 representatives from the sport movement, governments, national and regional anti-doping organisations, laboratories, service providers, researchers, and the media - the key players part of the collaborative worldwide movement for doping-free sport.
Participants convened to assess the progress made since the 2019 world conference in Katowice, Poland and the way forward for a strengthened global anti-doping program.
The conference concluded with the 2027 World anti-doping code and international standards being approved by the foundation board and executive committee, the governing bodies of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The "Busan declaration" was also adopted, which emphasised the importance of clean sport and calling on all stakeholders in anti-doping to cooperate effectively and support athletes.
Addressing the event, Deputy Secretary General Bjørn Berge, said that this conference, and the revision of the World anti-doping code, had come at a critical juncture in the world of sport. "The anti-doping system has come a long way since the code was first adopted in 2003. But we must continue to ensure that sporting standards are maintained without cost to human rights or our democratic values," he said.
He also emphasised that these are the cornerstones of the first ever treaty on anti-doping - the Council of Europe's Convention on anti-doping - which has been in force for almost four decades: "In tandem with the UNESCO Convention, it provides a legally binding framework for states to combat doping in sports, guided by the European Convention on Human Rights.
Everyone - from athletes to coaches to national anti-doping organisations to governments has a role to play in ensuring sport is fair and clean. Because clean sport is fundamental to us all," Mr Berge concluded.
In the sidelines of the conference, Deputy Secretary General Berge also had a bilateral meeting with the WADA President Witold Bańka and Director General Olivier Niggli, and one with State Minister Hiroyuki Nakamura of Japan's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology.
The Council of Europe and sport
Council of Europe's Convention on anti-doping
