The 8th Commonwealth Sports Minister Meeting was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on 4th August 2016. Delegations from 32 member countries attended the meeting. The meeting was opened by Commonwealth Secretary-General, the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC, and chaired by the Hon Sussan Ley, Minister for Health, Aged Care and Sport, Government of Australia (picture left).
The meeting took place in the context of the recent adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The meeting focused on the contribution that sport can make to the new global development agenda, with an emphasis on promoting healthy lives and well-being for all. The meeting also considered the negative impact of sport integrity issues on sustainable development, and options for effective Governmental responses.
The Ministers ‘welcomed and endorsed’ the policy guidance which was recently written by St Chad’s Fellow, Dr Iain Lindsey of the School of Applied Social Sciences, Sarah Metcalf of the School of Applied Social Sciences and St Chad’s Professor Tony Chapman.
Ministers expressed strong concern about the seriousness of threats to the integrity of sport which were addressed in the Durham University report. They forcefully reiterated that governments and non-governmental sporting organisations have a shared responsibility for protecting the integrity of sport. They also committed to working collectively to address these issues.