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A joint roundtable on sport values, ethics and integrity in the Caribbean region was hosted in the context of UNESCO’s Anti-Doping Convention by the Government of Barbados in Bridgetown on 7 June 2023. The event gathered the Bureau of the eighth session of the Conference of Parties (COP8) to the International Convention against Doping in Sport, the Approval Committee of the Fund for the Elimination of Doping in Sport, representatives of national anti-doping stakeholders, including the Ministry of Sports and the National Anti-Doping Committee, the Caribbean Regional Anti-Doping Organization, and representatives of UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector.

Under the leadership of Barbados, the joint roundtable - the first of its kind in the region -, provided clear bases for enhanced cooperation on the fight against doping in sport, with and within the Caribbean region. Among the major challenges the Caribbean face in relation to fighting doping in sport, there are:

• lack of human and financial resources.
• insufficient prioritization of sport and anti-doping by public authorities;
• high turnover of governmental staff;
• absence of legal frameworks and dedicated structures, such as independent National Anti-Doping Organizations and fully functional National Compliance Platforms.

The joint roundtable provided a first overview of the situation, which will be leveraged to elaborate a coherent vision and approach for the region, host to a high number of Small Island Developing States.

UNESCO’s Social and Human Sciences Sector will explore how to enhance cooperation with the Regional Anti-Doping Organization, which is key to pooling resources and mutualize efforts. Education, combined with capacity-building, are also important components of the fight against doping, where the support of the Anti-Doping Fund is crucial.

Concrete areas identified for a strategy moving forward include:

• improved communication between domestic entities, and with regional stakeholders and the Convention Secretariat.
• development of specific anti-doping legislation.
• elaboration and delivery of education programmes combined with capacity-building, especially as many of the top-performing Caribbean train and compete abroad.
• exploring how the expectations of stakeholders at the national level can be reconciled with some of the challenges in the fight against doping faced at the regional and international levels.
• clarifying roles and responsibilities at the country level.
• enhanced collaboration between the Regional Anti-Doping Organization and National Anti-Doping Organizations to develop tailor-made policies which reflect the context and capacities on the ground.

These matters will be the topic of in-depth exchanges prior to the ninth session of the Conference of Parties (COP9) to the Convention (UNESCO Headquarters, 25-26 October 2023). Subject to the approval of COP9, a funding category dedicated to Small Island Developing States and Least Developed Countries facing difficulties in implementing the Convention, coupled with a regional capacity-development programme, would be rolled out starting with 2024.

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This roundtable was organized at the margins of the formal meetings of the COP8 Bureau and the Fund’s Approval Committee.

Barbados is the Rapporteur of the Approval Committee since 2020, and Chairperson of the Task Force that has been entrusted with the refinement and improvement of the Convention’s monitoring system since 2022.