Kiri

ANNUAL REPORT

IMPLEMENTATION AND INTERNATIONAL COORDINATION OF ANTI-DOPING POLICIES AND PRACTICES (ICAP) I. General information

A. Identification Project reference number

VC 3685

Project partner(s)

Public authorities responsible for sport

Project manager

Hanna SALMEN, [email protected]

Contacts in the Directorate of Programme Co-ordination

Programming mailbox, [email protected]

Jennifer Trudeau, Resource Mobilisation and Donor Relations, [email protected]

B. Financial overview

Total budget €600,000.00

Total commitment €144,301.87

Total payments received €144,301.87

Total expenditure €4,316.23

C. Reporting information Project implementation dates

1 January 2025-31 December 2028

Reporting period

1 January 2025-31 December 2025

Date: 23 February 2026

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D. Executive Summary Most of the activities planned for 2025 within the project were delayed until very late in the year and will start more concretely in 2026. As such, in 2025, the potential and actual donors (Australia, Estonia, Finland) together with the staff of the Anti-Doping Unit and the then Chair of OneVoice, Japan represented by the Japan Sports Agency, carried out a pilot phase of the project where the Council of Europe functioned as the Permanent Secretariat to OneVoice. This first phase was crucial in defining the administrative and decision-making procedures for the OneVoice platform as well as in demonstrating the added value that the platform’s improvements bring to the coordination and effectiveness of public authorities represented on the World Anti-doping Agencies (WADA) governing bodies. As such, the States Parties to the Anti- Doping Convention have only just begun to benefit from the project’s capacity to enhance the implementation and monitoring of the Convention on Anti-doping.

The main tangible outcomes were:

- OneVoice Management Agreement (adopted in June 2025), including the revised Terms of Reference of OneVoice

- T-DO Evaluation Schedule adopted in September 2025

- T-DO Anti-Doping Questionnaire report 2024 adopted in September 2025

As part of the pilot phase, these activities were carried out at no cost to the project by the staff members of the Anti-Doping Unit of the Sport Division.

One project-supported activity that was carried out in 2025 was the organisation of the OneVoice meetings related to the World Conference on Doping in Sport, on 1-5 December 2026, in Busan, Republic of Korea. The meetings were organised in relation to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) Executive Committee and Foundation Board meetings during this conference. The project covered travel and accommodation for one staff member and the costs for a coffee break for one of the OneVoice meetings in Busan.

E. Project outline Geographical scope

All Council of Europe member States

Non-member States and observer States: Australia, Belarus, Canada, Cabo Verde, Holy See, Japan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Qatar, Tunisia, United States of America, as well as other states, particularly members of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s (WADA) Executive Committee and Foundation Board

Target group(s) per outcome

National Anti-Doping Organisations (NADO) International Olympic Committee World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA)

End beneficiaries for impact

Sport Ministry staff responsible for anti-doping, NADO personnel, athletes and athlete support personnel

Contributes to strategic co-operation document

Council of Europe priorities in the field of sport for 2022-2025

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F. Abbreviations CAHAMA – Ad hoc European Committee for the World Anti-Doping Agency EU – European Union institutions FIFA – International Federation of Association Football IOC – International Olympic Committee NADO - National Anti-Doping Organisation T-DO - Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention UEFA – European Association of Football Federations UNESCO - the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization WADA – World Anti-Doping Agency

G. Project description Public authorities across all continents are committed to promoting sports values, safeguarding athletes’ health, and combating doping. They support the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) as the global regulator and aim to strengthen its role in ensuring clean sport.

For the European region, the Council of Europe has led anti-doping efforts for decades. It created the first international anti-doping instrument in 1989 (the Anti-Doping Convention) and, in 1999, joined the IOC in calling for WADA’s establishment. As representation in WADA’s Governing Bodies is organised by Olympic regions, the Council of Europe plays a strategic role in coordinating the European position.

This project is composed of three pillars. The first and second pillars of the project relate to improving the ability of the Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention (T-DO) to evaluate the anti-doping situation in States Parties to the Convention and to support these States in improving their anti-doping system. T-DO collects information on national policies and conducts evaluation visits, producing recommendations to help States implement standards adopted by the Council of Europe, WADA, and UNESCO. The project will modernise T-DO’s data management and introduce tailored technical assistance for States Parties and Observer States.

The third pillar strengthens the Council of Europe’s role in facilitating inter-regional coordination on key anti-doping and WADA-related issues by reinforcing OneVoice. OneVoice is a platform that was created in 2017 to support the exchange of views and coordination of positions among public authorities represented on WADA’s Governing Bodies. It aims to ensure that Public Authorities represented on these Governing Bodies are appropriately supported at an operational and administrative level. While OneVoice’s annual rotating presidency promotes diversity and inclusivity, the administrative capacities of the regions vary, resulting in gaps in continuity, record-keeping and coordination, and at times limiting the preparation of consolidated positions for WADA’s Executive Committee and Foundation Board. This project therefore aims to provide OneVoice with a regular and stable Secretariat, to be ensured by the Council of Europe, to support the rotating Chairmanship, enhance consistency in its operations, and draw on the Council of Europe’s administrative expertise to strengthen the overall functioning of the platform.

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II. Assessment of progress

A. Overall assessment

Assessment of the results of the project - OneVoice Management Agreement (adopted in June 2025) and the revised Terms of

Reference of OneVoice

The OneVoice Management Agreement sets the foundation of a sustainable functioning for OneVoice. It clearly defines the role of the Chair as well as the supportive role of the permanent secretariat at the Council of Europe. The revised Terms of Reference also include a more clearly defined role for the Council of Europe as the Permanent Secretariat, identifying the key actions, functions and support mechanisms to be undertaken in support of OneVoice activities. The pilot phase in 2025 was highly appreciated by all OneVoice members and generally well received as significantly improving coordination and cooperation among the members. These very promising initial results notably resulted in additional funding being provided to the project at the end of 2025 by Estonia and Finland.

- T-DO Evaluation Schedule adopted in September 2025

With the entry into force of new T-DO Evaluation Guidelines in 2023, States Parties have agreed to a 10-year monitoring cycle accompanied by an aim-directed technical support function for the anti-doping areas where the evaluated State needs improvements. The new Evaluation schedule for 2026-2038 provides the project with a well-structured plan for the type of support needed for each country. In 2026, this plan will be adopted by the Monitoring Group to supplement technical assistance activities, in addition to the statutory monitoring activities in the form of Evaluation visits.

- T-DO Anti-Doping Questionnaire Dashboard launched in June 2025 and report for 2024 adopted in September 2025

In 2025, with the support of the United Kingdom Anti-Doping organisation, an online solution was developed to visualise the data annually collected through the Online Anti-Doping Questionnaire. This online tool is publicly available.

A 100% response rate was achieved in 2024 and 2025 as all States Parties to the Anti-Doping Convention provided responses for their anti-doping work.

Both these achievements will be a foundation for a more analytical and fact-based support to our States Parties in different areas of anti-doping activities – legal, financial, testing, education, research, intelligence & investigation, disciplinary and cooperation.

Outcomes on beneficiaries and target group At this stage, it is too early to assess the outcomes on beneficiaries and target groups. However, the initial response from T-DO delegations at the Monitoring Group meetings and the OneVoice members at the meetings has been very positive and encouraging for the continuation of the project.

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B. Added value The project aims to ensure that monitoring of the Convention on Anti-doping remains robust, effective and flexible. States Parties must remain compliant and in line with their international legal obligations as much as the standards set out in the World Anti-Doping Code and International Standards. In case an anti-doping organisation fails to comply with these standards, the consequences are far-reaching and may impact the professional and private lives of the athletes and their support personnel, leading up to sanctions such as prohibiting national athletes from participating in major international sports events under the flag of their home state.

The Council of Europe is in a unique position to support the global coordination of public authorities in WADA through the OneVoice platform. It can provide an independent, neutral and stable secretariat to OneVoice, facilitating more close cooperation and collaboration between OneVoice representatives. As OneVoice permanent secretariat, the Council of Europe assists the rotating Chair in their functions, supports the organisation of regular OneVoice meetings, and ensures an institutional memory that ensures newcomers are better able to follow previous decisions and discussions. Drawing from in-house expertise, the Council of Europe’s multidisciplinary staff is able to provide all necessary administrative support, address key coordination issues, and provide advice to the OneVoice Chair and members in order to provide Public Authorities with better means to understand, coordinate and form positions.

III. Stakeholders

A. Engagement during the reporting period For T-DO and CAHAMA activities

The Council of Europe member states and T-DO States Parties ensure the implementation of the project activities. WADA remains a key partner in CAHAMA and T-DO activities and this work contributes to effective cooperation with WADA, in line with the respective mandate and role of WADA and the Council of Europe in the anti-doping space.

For OneVoice

The OneVoice platform, as a coordination platform, regularly engaged with a number of stakeholders involved in the global anti-doping system. In particular, this included European Representatives on the WADA Executive Committee and Foundation Board and other regional representatives on the WADA Governing Bodies (particularly Australia, Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, New Zealand and the United States of America). OneVoice organised several coordination activities to prepare for meetings of the WADA Governance Bodies as well as regular meetings which are held either in-person or online. WADA was regularly involved in OneVoice activities in various capacities. All other countries, participants in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, are involved infrequently and indirectly insofar as they are part of the Public Authorities stakeholders group in WADA. The sports movement, including the International Olympic Committee and international federations, were also involved in some of these coordination activities, though to a more limited extent.

B. Links and synergies At this stage, it is too early to list concrete links and synergies. However, the project has already identified a number of potential partners and is committed to create synergies, to complement to the activities of other actors in the field, all while avoid duplication.

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IV. Communication and visibility

A. Communication

B. Visibility Dissemination of the project’s outcomes is achieved through the channels of the Council of Europe. National stakeholders shall use all their regular channels of communication and dissemination to spread the work done within the context of the project (including social media). The Council of Europe is also committed to support these efforts via media, press, websites, and other channels of communication, where needed.

All documents produced will be prepared in such a manner as to incorporate gender neutral language and promote gender equality in sport. Partner countries will be encouraged to translate documents into their national and minority languages.

V. Cross-cutting issues

A. Gender mainstreaming Gender equality is a key cross-cutting objective that is of increasing importance in sport, as is the case in the Council of Europe’s internal policies. Anti-doping policies are equally applied to sportswomen and sportsmen in accordance with the Anti-Doping Convention and World Anti-Doping Code. However, the rules and regulations, which govern sport, are different for men and women, which may impact also the application of the anti-doping rules. The Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention regularly assesses the potential gender- related impact of any new international standard and contributes to the drafting process by suggesting changes that better correspond to gender balance requirements. These proposals concern the governance of the anti-doping organisations, technical standards for doping control procedure and many other norms.

Within T-DO, CAHAMA and OneVoice, delegations are represented by officials or civil servants appointed by the national authorities. Whenever a meeting is convened on behalf of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, delegations are requested to appoint senior governmental or non-governmental officials responsible for national anti-doping policies, taking into account the Recommendation R (81) 6 of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on the participation of women and men in an equitable proportion in committees and other bodies set up in the Council of Europe.

B. Human Rights Approach (HRA) Sport-related activities raise issues under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) with an increasing number of cases being brought to the European Court of Human Rights under Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life), Article 10 (freedom of expression), and Article 7 (no punishment without law), as well as Article 1 of Protocol 1 (protection of property, for example, in relation to fines imposed on athletes by sport federations). Procedural safeguards guaranteed by Article 6 as applied to anti-doping proceedings have also been raised before the European Court on Human Rights, which has also helped shape key material such as the Recommendation CM/Rec(2022)14 of the Committee of Ministers to Member States on general principles of fair procedure applicable to anti-doping proceedings in sport.

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Additionally, with regards to human rights and health protections under the ECHR, doping significantly affects the health of users, many of whom are often unaware of the effects and the illegal nature of certain products. Preventing the use of doping products are as necessary as the need to educate sportsmen and sportswomen about the risk for their health.

C. Protection of the climate and the environment The OneVoice platform being truly global in its participation is almost entirely conducted via online meetings, with only one meeting being held in person in 2025.

D. United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) States Parties to the Anti-Doping Convention are concerned by the growing use of doping by athletes and the consequences thereof for the health of participants and the future of sport. Therefore, coordinated actions are taken with an aim to eliminate doping in sport and thus contribute to the SDG 3 - Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages.

The project also contributes to the SDG 16 "Peace, justice and strong institutions" by promoting human rights values through sport and promoting safety and good governance in sport. It further supports public authorities and stakeholders in improving their capacity to protect the right to health.

VI. Risk management

At this stage of the project, the risks are being identified, and a more elaborate risk management will be reported in the next interim report.

VII. Sustainability and learning

A. Sustainability The project’s activities aim to support monitoring processes and national anti-doping policies in the 52 States Parties. The results achieved with each activity contribute to sustainable and long-term anti-doping programmes in the States Parties.

The OneVoice platform will continue to require administrative and Secretariat support as long as Public Authorities are present on WADA’s governing bodies. However, the project’s long- term viability is reliant on further financial contributions from OneVoice members in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania, in particular.

B. Evaluation No external evaluation exercise has been planned for this project, but activities financed through this project are implemented in accordance with the Council of Europe rules and regulations.

C. Lessons learned From the experience of the project so far, particularly with regards to OneVoice, the most important lesson learned is the ability to identify appropriate contact persons/organisations and to update them in a timely manner in case of changes. This is particularly important for small countries where anti-doping programmes are implemented by one or a few people and continuity is not ensured when the person in charge changes. Cooperation with international partners such as WADA, the IOC, UNESCO and neighbouring countries was also essential to ensure the complementarity and coherence of the project and its activities.

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VIII. Follow-up

The aims of the project remain relevant at all times and the follow up will be ensured by continuing initiated actions to support the monitoring process of national anti-doping policies in the 52 States Parties.

IX. Appendices

A. List of deliverables - OneVoice Management Agreement (adopted in June 2025)

- T-DO Evaluation Schedule adopted in September 2025

- T-DO Anti-Doping Questionnaire Dashboard launched in June 2025 and report for 2024 adopted in September 2025

- Report of the OneVoice meetings 1-5 December 2025 in Busan, Republic of Korea

B. Financial report See separate document.