Russia proposes UN to be venue for discussing world’s controversial anti-doping system

UN, December 6. /TASS/. Russia proposes the United Nations to be the stage for discussions of double standards exercised by international anti-doping agency, which secretly issued permissions for athletes to consume banned performance enhancing drugs, Russian UN envoy Vitaly Churkin said on Tuesday. Churkin said that such situation looks "extremely hypocritical" in view of the suspension of the whole Russian Paralympic team from the 2016 Rio Games "only on grounds of suspicions." "Such situation can be hardly accepted as the one in compliance with justice, equal approach and fair game," the Russian diplomat said. "We propose to discuss this situation in the United Nations." Churkin said that the international anti-doping system must be transparent and provide for the undisputable equality of all athletes. "On the whole, it is necessary to work out unified requirements of doping control," the Russian UN envoy said. "Not only athletes, but the public society must have access to the information regarding doping tests." Churkin added that Russia for its part was open for cooperation on the fight against doping abuse and was currently implementing the national plan on this issue and toughening legislature envisaging criminal responsibility for the promotion and encouragement of performance enhancing drugs in sports. "However, it is high time to clear out whether everything is so fine beyond the Russian borders," he said. "In this regard, it is inadmissible to ignore the information, which the international sports society recently learnt, that anti-doping bodies were giving secret consent for the use of strong drugs to athletes, who had been winning major tournaments in recent years and earning tens of millions of dollars." "All statements that such athletes were suffering from grave diseases contradict common sense," the Russian diplomat added. An anonymous group of hackers posted information on their website Fancybears.net in September about hacking personal medical histories of athletes from the United States and other countries and the drugs they were prescribed in recent years, which were on WADA’s restricted list. They group announced the hacking of the database of ADAMS (Anti-Doping Administration & Management System) and leaked documents proving that WADA found an official loophole to sanction the use of banned performance enhancing drugs by US legendary tennis stars Serena and Venus Williams, US four-time Olympic Champion in gymnastics Simone Biles, North American women’s basketball player Elena Dolle Donne and many other international athletes, including Olympic medalists. Official sources later confirmed that athletes at the issue were officially allowed to take banned performance enhancing drugs due to their health restrictions under WADA’s official permission called as the Therapeutic Usage Exemption (TEU). Several months ago the International Olympic Committee (IOC) urged reformations in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). An issue of reformations within WADA emerged after the report of agency’s Independent Commission on the allegedly widespread doping abuse in the world’s largest country, Russia, which led to the partial ban of the country’s national Olympians from the 2016 Summer Games and the suspension of the entire Paralympic team from the 2016 Paralympics in Brazil. Read more