(ATR) Thomas Bach today called on European countries to step up their efforts to reform the global anti-doping system.
The IOC president issued his call for greater cooperation in the fight against doping at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Wednesday.
"Like with many challenges, that we all face in today’s fragile world we can only make progress by joining forces, by working together," Bach said.
Bach said that over the last two years "deficiencies of the World Anti-Doping Agency in the fight against doping have become apparent".
He made no reference to the Russian state-supported doping scandal that overshadowed the build-up to the Rio Olympics and cast a cloud over the IOC Session in the Brazilian city, or WADA’s acclaimed investigations that had led to the exposes.
"It is encouraging to see that the World Anti-Doping Agency is now starting to address these deficiencies through the organisation of Think Tanks and other measures," Bach added before underlining the importance of the stakeholders of WADA – governments and the Olympic Movement – helping to deliver "a more robust, more efficient and more transparent WADA anti-doping system".
The Olympic Summit on Saturday delivered recommendations to strengthen WADA and proposals that set in motion the IOC’s push for an anti-doping system independent from sports organisations and national interests.
Bach spoke about the strategy which he said would "treat all athletes from all nations equally" and touched on the harmonised legislation to make ita criminal offense for those facilitating doping.
"To achieve this common objective of a better WADA anti-doping system, the cooperation between the governments and the Olympic Movement is vital," he said.
The IOC president invited the Council of Europe and its 47 member states to "a dialogue with the Olympic Movement on this important issue". The council is anorganisation focused on promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe.
He expressed hope for "great progress" the WADA Foundation Board meeting in November in Glasgow. The Council of Europe will be represented by your deputy secretary general Gabriella Battaini-Dragoni.
Earlier in his speech, Bach said the IOC supported the Council of Europe’s resolution on how to promote the access to sport for all people.
Perhaps alluding to a troubled year for international federations such as the IAAF and FIFA as well as the IOC’s own struggles to maintain public confidence in the anti-doping fight amid the Russian scandal, he spoke about the lack of trust in politics and big organizations extending to sports bodies.
"This is a challenge we have to overcome together because we are all affected by this deep culture of mistrust and lack of dialogue," Bach said.
On a more positive note, the IOC leader talked about the first-ever Refugee Olympic Team, which participated at the Rio Games, reminding the world of the "unifying power of sport".
The IOC’s cooperation with the Council of Europe had also let to new global standards to protect sports competitions from manipulation and corruption, which also benefited from a partnership with INTERPOL, he added.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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