MINISTERS’ DEPUTIES

Information documents

CM/Inf(2024)14

12 June 2024[1]

1504th meeting, 10 July 2024 8 Youth and Sport 8.1 Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) – 18th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport (Porto, Portugal, 8-10 October 2024) Follow-up measures to the 17th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport (Antalya, Türkiye, 26 October 2022) Item to be considered by the GR-C at its meeting on 5 July 2024

 

 

Measures implemented following the adoption of Resolution No. 1 – “Sport for all: uniting us for stronger societies”

Introduction

At the 17^th Council of Europe (CoE) Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport, held on 26 October 2022 in Antalya, Türkiye, the ministers adopted Resolution no. 1 entitled “Sport for all: uniting us for stronger societies” (see Appendix 1).

The present document outlines the measures taken by the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) and other Council of Europe bodies to fulfil the key actions called for by the resolution. 

Implementation of the measures

In its declaration on sport integrity adopted on 27 September 2023, the Committee of Ministers invited member states to enact comprehensive legislation enabling the effective investigation and prosecution of infringements of human rights and the rule of law in the sport context.

With this declaration, the Committee of Ministers also recalled the importance of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights for fighting discrimination and abuse in sport, and supported the establishment under EPAS of the international Network of magistrates and prosecutors responsible for sport (MARS) which aims at strengthening international co-operation in the field of sport justice,

On 30 June 2023, the third EPAS human rights forum was organised, focusing this time on data protection and sports. The Council of Europe was at the origin of the development and promotion of the right to data protection over forty years ago with the adoption of its Convention for the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data (also known as Convention 108). The forum brought together experts from the world of sport and other experts linked to Convention 108; discussions were held on subjects including how to effectively safeguard the right to data protection in sport and how to maintain the trust and integrity that underpin the world of sports.

It consisted of a one-day event comprising four thematic sessions, revolving around four subject areas:

1)     Performance analysis and predictive technologies;

2)     International exchanges of information;

3)     Personal data in anti-doping;

4)     Facial recognition and crowd control.

In order to raise awareness about sports and human rights, the HELP (Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals) course on Human Rights in Sport was translated into new linguistic versions (in French, Spanish and Slovak) to expand its reach and launched in several countries. This allowed a wide range of stakeholders to be reached, including government representatives, judges, magistrates, lawyers and academics, all working in the area of sports and human rights.

This HELP course contains specific modules on:

• Sports arbitration and litigation – Fair trial (Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, hereafter “the ECHR”)

• Privacy (Article 8 of the ECHR)

• Life and security (Art. 2, 3 and 4 of the ECHR)

• Liberty, Freedom of Expression and Assembly (Art. 5, 10 and 11 of the ECHR)

• Prohibition of discrimination

• Anti-doping and human rights

• Sports manipulation and human rights

• Safety and security of sport events and human rights

On 3-4 April 2024, EPAS organised an educational workshop on the European Sports Charter, focusing on combating hate speech and discrimination in sports, aimed at the national ice hockey team of Ukraine (under 18 age group) to raise the awareness of the athletes on their rights and the existing standards in the field of anti-discrimination and recalling the zero-tolerance approach of the European Sports Charter.

“The Council of Europe and Sport Strategic Priorities for 2022-2025” (document SG/Inf(2022)2) continued to provide important guidance in respect of the Council of Europe’s unique mission and role in the field:

“To assist and advise governments and sports organisations to advance human rights, the rule of law and democracy in and through sport, while acknowledging that the Council of Europe is a platform for the development, monitoring and implementation of standards and policies for safe, ethical and inclusive sport.”

The Sport Division of the Council of Europe is implementing the European Union – Council of Europe joint project All In Plus “Promoting greater gender equality in sport” (March 2023-March 2025). The project includes three work pillars:

• data collection in collaboration with 20 countries,
• the creation of an online library of best practice examples, and
• media sensitisation.

Through the All In Plus joint EU-CoE action, 20 partner countries are taking part in an extensive data collection exercise which includes the following indicators: leadership; coaching and officiating; participation (from grassroots to elite sport); gender-based violence; communication/media; and policies and programmes addressing gender equality. A network of national focal co-ordinators for data collection composed of one representative per country involved has been set up. Up to 30 countries are also taking part in the media sensitisation information sessions allowing their media professionals and sport journalists to learn more about portrayal guidelines, unconscious bias training and how to report on sensitive subjects such as examples of gender-based violence in sport. Partnerships with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) ensure that gender mainstreaming is promoted.

Project partners include: the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Global Observatory on Gender Equality and Sport (GO) and representatives from the EPAS Governing Board, the EPAS Consultative Committee as well as other member States and sport organisations. The indicators used as part of the data collection exercise will be shared with a wide range of organisations to ensure that comparable data is collected internationally.

The Gender Equality Strategy 2024-2029 adopted on 6 March 2024 and its strategic objective 6 in particular, which aims at achieving gender mainstreaming and including an intersectional approach in all policies and measures, acknowledges the gender mainstreaming work carried out in the field of sport.

The Head of the Children’s Rights and Sport Values Department of the Council of Europe presented the work of the Council of Europe on safe sport at the Conference on Safe Environment in Sport held in Valencia on 22 September 2023 in the framework of the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

The Head of the Children’s Rights and Sport Values Department of the Council of Europe gave a presentation on Еuropean perspectives on the protection of children and spectators in sport at the Scientific and Practical conference “Sports and Security” organised by the National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski” in Sofia on 6 October 2023.

The Head of the Children’s Rights and Sport Values Department of the Council of Europe participated in a panel on the “Importance of Leadership and Good Governance for Safeguarding” at the FIFA Safeguarding Summit held in Zurich on 25 October 2023.

EPAS’ work on child safeguarding in sport was presented by Alexandre Husting, Chair of the EPAS Governing Board at a hearing on Violence in sport and safeguarding organised by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe in London on 1 June 2023. The discussions at the hearing were aimed at feeding into a report by the Parliamentary Assembly report on “Protecting human rights in and through sport: obligations and shared responsibilities”.

A dedicated section of the journal Sport and Citizenship (no. 54) on “Preventing sexual abuse and protecting people’ was devoted to the work of the Council of Europe on child safeguarding, notably on the role of child safeguarding officers.

In line with the final provisions of the European Sports Charter, member States were invited to pledge for the implementation of the Charter in their policies, strategies and programmes. Over the past two years a working group developed a methodology to support member States in this endeavour. This new methodology was then applied to the most recent Support & Follow up visits to Portugal and the Slovak Republic in 2023, and Finland and Morocco in 2024. The methodology ensures that each visit includes meetings with the sport movement and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate the implementation of the Charter within their policies and practices as well as visits to sports facilities and other relevant venues. Having both perspectives on the host country’s implementation of the Charter allows for a more accurate and in-depth analysis of the current situation and recommendations for future application of the values of the European Sports Charter. By seeing the facilities first hand, the expert team is better positioned to assess the implementation of Article 10 – Sport for all and include any modifications in the final report.

In its declaration on sport integrity, the Committee of Ministers praises the role of EPAS in “facilitating dialogue and co-operation in the field at national and international levels between the sports movement, public authorities, and all other key stakeholders” and calls upon more countries to “engage in this unique collaborative forum and join EPAS.”

On 1 April 2024, Denmark joined EPAS and became its 40^th member State and on 15 May 2024, Ireland joined and became its 41^st member State.

The following member States of the Council of Europe are invited to consider joining EPAS, the corresponding budgetary annual contribution being indicated (2024 scale):

Country	%	€K
Czech Republic	2,0216	24,1
Germany (major contributor)	16,5866	197,9
Ireland	2,9669	35,4
Republic of Moldova	0,7846	9,4
Romania	2,2881	27,3
Spain	9,2285	110,1
Sweden	3,8570	46,0
United Kingdom (major contributor)	16,5866	197,9

EPAS holds regular meetings with countries that are not members to raise their awareness on the benefits of joining EPAS. On 4 December 2023, the EPAS Statutory Committee meeting held an extended session open to all member States, showcasing EPAS’ work in the area of integrity in sport.

EPAS being an enlarged partial agreement (Israel and Morocco are members), other States which are not members of the Organisation may be interested in joining, as for instance Observer States (Canada; Holy See; Japan; Mexico and the United States of America).

EPAS, under the aegis of the Sport Division, has worked in collaboration with States, the sports movement and other relevant stakeholders to promote and monitor progress towards gender equality, in particular by contributing to the implementation of the joint EU-CoE All In Plus project.

The 2023 Edition of the 8 March EPAS Breakfast Roundtable focused on combating gender-based violence in sport. Representatives from member States and sports organisations attended and participated in this event, which was opened by the former Permanent Representative of France to the Council of Europe. Collecting data on gender-based violence constitutes an indicator in the joint EU-CoE project All In Plus, which also includes the collection and promotion of best practice examples to combat gender-based violence in sport.

The 2024 Edition of the 8 March EPAS Breakfast Roundtable focused on gender (in)equality in sport officiating. Specialists from different countries presented initiatives in place to combat discrimination against referees, and some female referees from a range of sports shared their experiences in this area. Panellists discussed the steps that should be taken to combat discrimination against officiators and promote greater gender equality in the sector. 

A data update reflecting the clear imbalance in sports officiating in terms of equality, and some first information from the brand new data collection in the area of officiating from the joint project “All In Plus” were presented.

EPAS commissioned an unconscious bias training course which was offered to the EPAS Governing Board and Consultative Committee members in June 2023 prior to the annual EPAS plenary meetings. This training course also formed part of the media sensitisation session held on 2 November 2023 at the IOC in collaboration with the EBU, to ensure that the participating sports journalists and media professionals from over 21 countries obtained relevant training in this area. 

A roadmap for the implementation of child safeguarding in sport policy has been developed, in the context of “Start to Talk”, in collaboration with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Bulgaria. The draft roadmap was presented to the project Steering Committee during a roundtable in Sofia on 19 September 2023 and its final version then shared with the project Steering Committee.

Start to Talk organised a child consultation on the roadmap work in collaboration with the Bulgarian State Agency for Child Protection. The consultation took place on 30 May 2023 and the uniqueness of the child consultation process will lead to the publication of specific guidance on, how to carry out such consultation.

EPAS participated in the 30th International Congress for the Prevention and Care of Child Abuse on
29 August 2023. EPAS teamed up with the Secretariat of the Committee of the Parties (the Lanzarote Committee) to the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse (the Lanzarote Convention) to present the Convention and highlight its potential to protect children from sexual abuse in sport.

On 5 December 2022 and on 5 December 2023, EPAS organised annual meetings (morning in camera sessions and afternoon seminars) on the subject of safeguarding in sport with the International Pool of Experts in Safe Sport.

The 2022 seminar was on Child participation in policy making. The 2023 seminar was on Safer recruitment in sport: human rights-compliant screening of criminal and disciplinary records.

In 2023 the Pool of Experts prepared two deliverables: a glossary on safe sport and a compilation of tools on safe sport.

EPAS held its 2023 Diversity conference on 29 November 2023, in the framework of the Liechtenstein Presidency of the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers. The subject area was the inclusion of child migrants and refugees in and through sport. This conference was held in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport of the Principality of Liechtenstein and with the support of the Special Representative of the Secretary General on Migrants and Refugees. The Diversity Conference drew attention to the challenges, and the work being done throughout Europe in this area.

Further to the 2021 EPAS diversity conference, a toolkit on promoting and protecting the human rights of transgender and intersex athletes, aimed at universities and sports institutes is being developed in collaboration with the SOGI Unit.

In order to promote EPAS’ work in the area of sport as a tool for social integration for disadvantaged groups a webinar was held in April 2023 with a focus on protecting and promoting the human rights of athletes.

Measures implemented following the adoption of Resolution No. 2 –“Rethinking sport: leading the way for a healthy and sustainable future”

Introduction

At the 17^th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport, held on 26 October 2022 in Antalya, Türkiye, the ministers adopted Resolution no. 2 entitled “Rethinking sport: leading the way for a healthy and sustainable future” (see Appendix 2).

The present document outlines the measures taken by EPAS and other Council of Europe bodies to fulfil the key actions called for by the resolution. 

Implementation of the measures

EPAS has held European Sports Charter support and follow-up visits in a number of member States, including in 2024: Finland and Morocco (planned), in 2023: Portugal and the Slovak Republic, and in 2022 in North Macedonia and Albania. One of the fundamental principles of the European Sports Charter is sport for all and this is an indicator which is assessed in terms of national sports policy in each of the participating countries.

Key among the Articles of the Charter is Article 10 on the right to sport, which in paragraph 2 spells out that “no discrimination on the ground of race, colour, language, religion, gender or sexual orientation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status, shall be permitted in the access to sports facilities or to sports activities.”

Each visit and its subsequent expert report includes visits to facilities in addition to the exchanges with key stakeholders to ensure that the right to sport is significantly present within each member States policies and actions.

In addition, the theme of the EPAS biennial Diversity Conference in 2023 was on the inclusion of child migrants and refugees in and through sport. At this conference and its subsequent report and outputs, emphasis was placed on the role the sport movement and other relevant stakeholders can play in the inclusion of disadvantaged groups such as migrants and refugees.  Through the sharing of best practices and debating challenges at the conference, member States and the sports movement will have a clear path forward to further the right to sport.

EPAS is currently preparing a White Paper on the Social Sustainability of Sports Facilities (inclusion of all groups to access sports facilities) in collaboration with the Mulier Institute, with whom it organised three technical meetings on the mapping of sports facilities in 2022 and 2023.

EPAS is also working with UNESCO on the Fit For Life initiative, in particular, in relation to the inclusion of women and girls in and through sport. Both of these initiatives aim to improve the access to physical activity and sport for all individuals and social groups.

EPAS will be organising a webinar on the right to health and sport in 2025, with a focus on vulnerable groups.

To follow-up on the Resolution, the Monitoring Group of the Anti-Doping Convention (T-DO) established the Ad Hoc Group of experts on anti-doping in recreational sport (T-DO ADRS) on 25 March 2023. Composed of four eminent anti-doping experts, the Group is currently carrying out a mapping of the existing measures to fight doping in recreation sport, identifying good practices and preparing a recommendation to be adopted by the Monitoring Group. The result of its work should be published in 2024.

The European Sports Charter bi-annual questionnaire developed by EPAS will enable policy makers and public authority to base their sports policy on evidence-based elements.

In December 2022, EPAS held a technical meeting with the Mulier Institute focusing on sports policy and touching on social sustainability as associated with the financing of sports facilities. The meeting brought together researchers and policy makers representing member States to facilitate an exchange of know-how and best practice.

Appendix 1

Resolution No. 1

Sport for all: uniting us for stronger societies

The Ministers responsible for Sport, meeting in Antalya, Türkiye, for their 17^th Council of Europe Conference on 26 October 2022:

1.             recalling the Council of Europe’s mission to promote common standards on human rights, democracy and the rule of law in Europe and to monitor and support their implementation, including through its unique legal framework and structures in the field of sport as outlined in the “Council of Europe and Sport Strategic Priorities for 2022-2025”;

2.             noting that the pursuit of European ideals and values is facing unprecedented challenges, such as armed conflicts, pandemics, climate change, social inequality and risks to democracy and diversity in the digital age;

3.             being convinced that sport can contribute to upholding the Council of Europe’s values and ideals and address these challenges, driving the societal changes needed to achieve inclusion, sustainability and quality of life in our constantly evolving societies;

4.             recognising the unique potential of sport to contribute to peaceful societies and facilitate resilience, as well as to foster social inclusion;

5.             mindful of the need to protect and promote human rights in and through sport, as underlined in the International Declaration on Human Rights and Sport (Tbilisi Declaration) adopted at the
15^th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sports and Resolution No. 2 on Human Rights in Sport adopted at the 16^th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport;

6.             concerned by the infringements on human rights that continue to take place in the context of sport, in particular against children, women, persons with disabilities, members of minority groups, athletes and other workers and convinced that public authorities and sport organisations must cooperate to effectively prevent abuse, protect victims and ensure that the law is enforced;

7.             stressing that physical education and sport must take place in a safe and inclusive environment free from any form of physical, sexual or emotional violence and from racism and other forms of discrimination;

 

8.             condemning the Russian Federation’s aggression towards Ukraine, considering that the Russian Federation and Belarus should not be represented in international sport as long as this aggression continues, and committing to enable Ukrainians to participate in sport;

9.             concerned by the situation of all refugees and displaced persons and by violations of their human rights, convinced that sport can be an important element in facilitating their inclusion, and therefore welcoming all initiatives alleviating the challenges they face and acknowledging their positive contribution to sport and society;

10.          noting more generally inequalities in sports participation, particularly by the members of disadvantaged groups, such as refugees, persons with disabilities, senior citizens and migrants among others, which reflect the multiple barriers that still exist in accessing sport;

11.          recalling the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States
on the Revised European Sports Charter (CM/Rec(2021)5), notably  that all human beings have an inalienable right of access to sport in a safe environment;

12.          reaffirming that no discrimination on the grounds of “race”, colour, language, religion, sex, gender identity or sexual orientation, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status, shall be permitted in the access to sports facilities or to sports activities;

13.          recalling the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on integrated national strategies for the protection of children from violence (CM/Rec(2009)10), the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on gender mainstreaming in sport (CM/Rec(2015)2), the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on preventing and combating sexism (CM/Rec(2019)1) and the Recommendation of the Committee of Ministers to member States on combating hate speech (CM/Rec(2022)16) setting out policy guidelines which also apply in the area of sport;

14.          recalling their determination to promote as a priority a values-based sport, as a powerful means of building stronger societies.

The Ministers:

Welcome the work of the Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) to advance human rights in and through sport, notably gender equality and children’s rights, in addition to its efforts in promoting inclusiveness. In particular, the Ministers:

1.             welcome the guidance provided to public authorities and sports bodies to advance gender equality in sport, with the development of indicators and corresponding data collection to better inform policies and measure their impact;

2.             highlight the value of the assistance provided in the development of child safeguarding policies and national roadmaps involving all key stakeholders, and the importance of the Pool of International Experts on Safe Sport as a source of multi-disciplinary expertise covering all forms of violence and abuse against children in sport;

3.             underline the importance of the use by public authorities and sports organisations of the guidance, training and awareness-raising material created to prevent, detect, report and respond to violence and abuse of children in sport;

4.             appreciate the joint actions undertaken by the Council of Europe and the European Union through the projects ALL-IN – Towards Gender Balance in Sport, Child Safeguarding in Sport and on Combating Hate Speech in Sport;

5.             support EPAS’ initiatives and actions to preserve and promote the values of sport and to make it more inclusive, ethical and safe;

INVITE the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to:

1.            focus and strengthen the Council of Europe’s actions to promote and safeguard human rights in and through sport, provide adequate financial and human resources, and to mobilise all key stakeholders to promptly address remaining and emerging challenges;

2.            call upon member States to develop policies aimed at gender balance in sport, in
co-operation with the sport movement and other relevant stakeholders, to – where possible – promote gender mainstreaming and include gender equality objectives in their statutory aims, internal regulations and codes of conduct, policies, plans, projects and other strategic documents to further strengthen their capacity to address gender inequality;

3.            adopt and implement child safeguarding policies at all levels of sport participation and continue promoting the Start to Talk initiative to call attention and act against violence and abuse in sport;

4.            support States to develop national sports strategies in co-operation with the sport movement and other relevant stakeholders to facilitate the inclusion of disadvantaged groups in sport, including, inter alia, the provision of appropriate facilities and equipment, the development of diverse physical activity programmes tailored to individuals with different needs, in addition to measures ensuring adequate representation and visibility and enhancing social integration through sport;

5.            invite member States which have not yet done so to join EPAS;

INVITE EPAS to:

1.            engage with its member States, the sports movement and other relevant stakeholders to:

a)            promote and monitor progress towards gender equality, notably by using the gender equality indicators and disseminating the gender mainstreaming in sport tools and recommendations developed through the ALL IN project;

b)            encourage training initiatives (of athletes, athlete support personnel, sports officials and other relevant stakeholders such as media) on gender equality issues, in particular through partnerships with national, European and international sports organisations;

c)            continue supporting States and sports organisations in the design and implementation of child safeguarding policies, taking into account the Council of Europe conventions against child sexual exploitation and abuse, trafficking in human beings, and violence against women and domestic violence, notably in the context of the Start to Talk initiative to stop violence and abuse of children in sport and support exploratory work on human rights-compliant sharing of information on criminal and disciplinary records of staff and volunteers working with children in the context of sport;

d)            use sport as a tool for social integration of disadvantaged groups, such as migrants, refugees, persons with disabilities and senior citizens; develop a toolbox based on best practices for inclusion of disadvantaged groups in all aspects of sport and devise a communication plan to promote it widely;

2.            present a report to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2023, assessing progress on the implementation of the measures enshrined in this Resolution.

Appendix 2

Resolution No. 2

Rethinking sport: leading the way for a healthy and sustainable future

The Ministers responsible for Sport, meeting in Antalya, Türkiye, for their 17^th Council of Europe Conference on 26 October 2022:

1.             acknowledging the important and unanimously recognised contribution of sport to protecting and promoting human rights, democracy and the rule of law and achieving the Council of Europe’s mission as outlined in the “Council of Europe and Sport Strategic Priorities for 2022-2025”;

2.             recalling the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ETS No.5) and the importance of the rights and freedoms it lays down for all areas of society including sport;

3.             recalling the European Social Charter (ETS Nos. 35 and 163 [revised]) and the right to the protection of health (Article 11);

4.             bearing in mind that Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)5 of the Committee of Ministers to member States on the Revised European Sports Charter states that sport is instrumental to the exercise of the rights to health, education, culture and participation in the life of the community;

5.             aware of the role that sport can play in improving individual and community health and in the social, cultural and economic development of all nations;

6.             committed to also supporting the implementation of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the sports sector;

7.             noting that inequalities in sports participation, which mirror those in education, health and wealth distribution, reflect barriers in the provision of inclusive physical education and sport policy, such as inadequate or distant infrastructures and prohibitive costs;

8.             acknowledging the World Health Organization “Global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030” and its mission to ensure that all people have access to safe and enabling environments and to diverse opportunities to be physically active in their daily lives;

9.             taking into account the negative impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the sport sector at all levels and particularly for grassroot sport and recognising that the observed decline in physical activity levels in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic has major implications for the prevalence of
non-communicable diseases and the general physical and mental health of the population;

10.          concerned by the growing evidence of the prevalence of performance-enhancing substance use in sport at grassroots level and its potential implications for public health;

11.          recognising the important contribution of the Council of Europe Anti-Doping Convention
(ETS No. 135) to the international fight against doping in Europe and beyond and thus to the protection of athletes' health;

12.          committed to protecting individual and community health through clean sport at all levels of participation, from the grassroots to elite sports;

13.          recognising the close interrelationship between healthy environmental conditions, sporting activities and the need to integrate the principle of sustainable development into sport;

14.          concerned by the increasingly prevalent negative impact of climate change and biodiversity loss;

15.              noting the key role and responsibilities of the various stakeholders in the field of sport and stressing that all stakeholders should take responsibility to reduce their negative impacts on nature and their carbon footprint and pursue commitments and partnerships for climate action in recognition of the increasingly negative impact of climate change and biodiversity loss on society and on sport;

16.          welcoming the work of the Council of Europe’s Enlarged Partial Agreement on Sport (EPAS) to explore the challenges and opportunities the Covid-19 crisis has forced on sport;

17.          stressing their commitment to further promote public health in and through sport, in particular by partnering with the sport movement, anti-doping organisations, national federations, and other stakeholders;

18.          welcoming the pioneering initiatives already taken by sports organisations by developing sustainability policies and including environmental protection considerations and commitments in the planning and implementation of their activities.

The Ministers:

RESOLVE to:

1.            strengthen and promote sport as a value-based activity, governed in compliance with the principles of democracy, transparency, integrity, solidarity, gender equality, openness, accountability, accessibility, social responsibility and respect for fundamental and human rights;

2.            enable every individual to participate in sport by ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to engage in physical activity and sport in a safe, secure and healthy environment;

3.            promote physical activity and sport and its many societal and individual benefits as a tool for strengthening public health, inclusion and education;

4.            recognise doping in amateur sport as a public health issue and promote awareness-raising activities and the implementation of policies that ensure clean sport at all levels of participation;

5.            facilitate public access to sporting activities to improve community health and encourage social re-integration, in particular in a post-pandemic context;

6.             support the implementation of sport policies that are in line with the principles of sustainable development and aimed at mitigating the adverse effects of climate change and biodiversity loss;

7.            facilitate access to sports and physical activities for all members of society, in particular by:

a)            investing in sustainable infrastructures accessible to all for the practice of sport and physical activity, including public facilities and services;

b)            developing diverse programmes that target all social groups, with adapted cost of participation and types of activities;

c)            placing emphasis on the inclusion of all members of society when designing physical education and sport for all policies;

8.            strive towards clean sport and develop national sports strategies on anti-doping in recreational and grassroot sport, including education programmes and monitoring measures;

9.            commit to ensuring the compliance of sports activities with the principles of economic, social and environmental sustainability;

INVITE EPAS to:

1.            explore, in cooperation with Council of Europe committees and bodies, avenues to promote and facilitate the exercise of the “right to sport” for all;

2.            hold regular dialogue and conclude, where appropriate, international partnerships with the sports movement and other relevant stakeholders to improve the access to physical activity and sport for all individuals and social groups;

3.            facilitate the exchange of good practices and successful experiences pertaining to adaptive measures in sports programmes to combat physical inactivity and its harmful consequences on the physical and mental health of populations, especially among the most vulnerable;

4.            explore States’ needs and concerns with regard to their anti-doping strategies in amateur sport and provide them with informational and consultative support to protect clean sport and public health;

5.            make use of scientific evidence, policy instruments and quality-assurance mechanisms that enhance the sustainability of sports policy;

6.            present a report to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe in 2023, assessing progress on the implementation of the measures enshrined in this resolution;

EXPRESS their appreciation to the Turkish Government for the excellent organisation of the
17^th Conference in Antalya and for its kind hospitality;

TAKE NOTE with gratitude of the invitation of the Minister of Portugal to hold the 18^th Council of Europe Conference of Ministers responsible for Sport in 2024.