August 25, 2005 – The fight against doping will no longer be a matter of sport organisations in the future, but of countries’ governments as well, which can secure effective control and make laws to regulate doping-related issues, UNESCO general director Koichiro Matsuura said in Bratislava yesterday.

A draft international convention against doping in sport, which the UNESCO general conference is set to approve in the weeks to come, aims to make this change, Matsuura said. It would be the first international convention on doping at the inter-governmental level and of a global scope. Hitherto efforts at coping with doping have been taken by the sport movement, without governments being involved.

The new convention binds governments to introduce anti-doping measures, Matsuura said. He said the convention also aims to raise the knowledge of athletes and the public about doping.

Matsuura attended a round-table discussion on doping in Bratislava yesterday. He also met with Slovak Education Minister Martin Fronc and EU commissioner for education Jan Figel.