Sport plays a vital role in crime, drugs fight: envoy
Qatar said it included youth crime prevention through sports as one of the pillars of the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration.
This is due to Qatar’s belief in the great role that sport plays in protecting youth from crime and drugs, empowering individuals and societies, achieving development and peace, and promoting dialogue between cultures and nations, Qatar’s ambassador to Austria and the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and international organisations in Vienna, Sultan bin Salmeen al-Mansouri said.
He was before a high-level session on tackling corruption and crime in and through sports, organised by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in Vienna, in co-operation with FIFA.
Al-Mansouri said the importance of the Global Programme for the Implementation of the Doha Declaration stems from the fact that it provides an effective tool and practical practice on the role of sport in protecting youth and creating opportunities for them to develop their life skills in a way that protects them from extremism and violence.
He said the programme has succeeded not only in keeping young people away from crime and drugs, but also in transforming these youth into pioneers in their societies who spread sports values.
He also said that there are endeavours to include some youth as guests of Qatar during its hosting of the 2022 FIFA World Cup to present their experience to the youth of the world on that occasion.
Al-Mansouri said that defending integrity in sport and the rule of law is an institutional commitment in all countries and called for fighting organised crime in various sectors of sport.
He reviewed Qatar’s efforts to raise awareness and education on combating corruption and crime in sports, including holding a workshop to discuss integrity in sports tournaments and develop a mechanism by the Supreme Committee for Delivery & Legacy in co-operation with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol).
He added that Qatar and the UNODC signed an agreement to combat corruption in sports in order to help countries, organisations and agencies and referred to the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy and the UNODC to combat corruption in sport in April 2019.
Al-Mansouri said that, in realisation of Qatar National Vision 2030, the State has invested heavily in building and developing sports facilities and developing infrastructure in accordance with international standards, which enabled it to host major sporting events with great success.
At the end of his speech, alMansouri said Qatar always seeks to host major global events and enhance ways to support international co-operation, pointing to the 2022 FIFA World Cup, the first World Cup in the Middle East and Arab World, and called on attendees to participate in this historic event.
He also referred to Qatar’s endeavour to host the 2030 Asian Games and the 2032 Summer Olympic Games.