More than 100 Ministers, international sports organisations
and experts from around the world will meet in London today
to reaffirm the global commitment to tackling corruption in
sport.
Delegates at the International Partnership Against
Corruption in Sport (IPACS) will discuss how to manage
conflicts of interest in awarding major sporting events to
ensure the process is fair and transparent.
They will also develop tools to prevent corruption around
procurement at sports events and the way infrastructure
contracts are awarded.
Today’s summit represents a strengthening of the
international commitment to protect sport from the
corrosive effects of corruption.
It is the first high-level IPACS meeting since the
partnership was launched at the International Olympic
Committee (IOC)’s Forum on Sport Integrity last year. The
partnership’s mission is to bring international sports
organisations, governments and inter-governmental
organisation together “to strengthen and support efforts to
eliminate corruption and promote a culture of good
governance in and around sport”.
, Secretary of
State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said:
We are proud to support the International Partnership
Against Corruption in Sport and today’s event is another
important step in the ongoing fight to eliminate
corruption from sport. Every fan and athlete should have
faith that contracts are fairly awarded, events are given
to the strongest bid and the highest standards of
governance are being upheld.
Our Sporting Future strategy sets out a commitment to
tackle corruption in sport and, working alongside our
international partners and UK Sport, I am pleased to see
that significant progress is being made through IPACS.
Co-ordinated by a Core Group of partners including the
Council of Europe, the IOC, the Organisation for Economic
Development and Cooperation (OECD), the UK Government, and
the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), IPACS consists of
a Steering Committee composed of governments, sports
organisations and inter-governmental organisations.
Thomas Bach, President of the IOC, said:
The IOC remains committed to fight corruption in sport at
all levels. Integrity entails credibility, and corruption
threatens the very credibility of sports organisations as
well as competitions. We know we cannot win this fight
alone, but need the support of governments when it comes
to anti-corruption legislation and law enforcement.
That is the value of IPACS, a very pragmatic partnership
which can get together quickly and offer effective
solutions on pressing topics. The high-level support
IPACS received today is invaluable and will further
strengthen our team efforts.
Gabriella Battaini Dragoni, Deputy Secretary General of the
Council of Europe, said:
Match-fixing, illegal betting, bad governance, insider
information, conflicts of interest, and the use of clubs
as shell companies: the Council of Europe covers all
these aspects through the Macolin Convention on the
Manipulation of Sports Competitions, signed today by the
UK Minister of Sport, as well as through the Council of
Europe anti-corruption body, GRECO.
We are ready to develop further an inclusive co-operation
framework with states and other international
stakeholders to be put at the service of our IPACS
partners. Because, when it comes to corruption in sport,
there must be a change of gear. We must enable national
governments, international organisations and sporting
bodies to demonstrate their capacity to take on this
problem in a spirit of unity, determination and
effectiveness. IPACS was founded for precisely this
purpose – and together we will meet the challenge”.
Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen, Deputy Secretary-General-elect
of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development, said:
IPACS is further evidence that corruption can be defeated
only through collective partnerships and actions. The
OECD’s experience in the fight against all forms of
corruption serve as the basis of our engagement with
IPACS. Fighting corruption in sport is fighting
corruption globally.
Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), said:
In all of our efforts to combat corruption and organized
crime, UNODC emphasizes the need for multi-stakeholder
approaches which can set international standards and
build capacities, while harnessing the expertise and
experience of all actors.
IPACS, of which UNODC is a core member, is a great
example of such an initiative. Together we can promote
integrity, stop criminals from exploiting sport for
illicit gain and harness the power of sport as a force
for development and peace.
Attendees at the three-day summit include representatives
from the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics, the
British Olympic Association and British Paralympic
Association, Interpol and the Commonwealth Games
Federation.
Yesterday (5 December) delegates reiterated their full
commitment to upholding and implementing internationally
recognised standards of integrity and anti-corruption in
sport through engagement and collaboration with IPACS.
The next meeting of IPACS will take place by mid-2019, with
the aim of discussing potential new focus areas for the
Partnership and reporting on progress achieved since the
2018 High Level event.
Notes to editor:
- Corruption is not unique to sport. But the selection
and organisation of major sporting events, the rapid
commercialisation – and huge business interests and value –
of sport, and the behaviours and structures that govern it
carry high risks of corruption.
- As the custodians of sport, many international sports
organisations have increasingly recognised the need for
greater transparency and have taken active steps to reform
and strengthen how they are structured and function, in
line with major reform agendas such as the Olympic Agenda
2020.
- IPACS responds to efforts and calls by governments and
other public authorities around the world to intensify the
fight against corruption in sport. These include, amongst
others, the commitment made by leaders at the 2016 London
Anti-Corruption Summit; the adoption of resolution 7/8 on
corruption in sport by the Conference of the States Parties
to the United Nations Convention against Corruption in
November 2017; the resolutions adopted at the 14th and 15th
Council of Europe Conferences of Ministers responsible for
Sport in Budapest 2016 and Tbilisi 2018; and calls made by
G20 leaders in the 2018 Hamburg Leaders Communiqué and –
most recently - the 2019 Buenos Aires Leaders Communiqué.
