Tunisian authorities issued legal amendments requested by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which imposed penalties on the country for non-compliance with international standards.
The order “regulating the administrative and financial organization of the National Anti-Doping Agency and its management methods” was issued today, Friday, according to a statement by the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
The order was issued “by accelerating the procedures related to issuing the text in order to preserve the highest interest of the country,” according to the ministry.
On Tuesday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) confirmed Tunisia’s non-compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code and announced the imposition of sanctions on the country.
The organization explained that Tunisia will not host regional, continental, or world championships, and the Tunisian flag will not be allowed to be raised in the Olympic and Paralympic Games, until the country returns to the jurisdiction of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Among the amendments confirmed by the new legal text, “the members of the Committee for Granting Licensing for Therapeutic Purposes shall, in the exercise of their duties, rely on the application of the provisions of the law and the national rules for anti-doping, the World Anti-Doping Code, and the international standard for licensing for therapeutic purposes in effect.”
On Wednesday evening, the Tunisian Ministry of Youth and Sports stressed “the Tunisian state’s keenness to adhere to the requirements of ratified international agreements,” and published a decree “concerning the required revisions,” adding that it wants to “reassure public opinion” in Tunisia and the organizers of sports competitions.
After the text is published in the Official Gazette, “the sanctions will be lifted, provided that these measures will be carried out in accordance with the provisions and procedures of the laws for publishing legislative and regulatory texts in the Tunisian state, in the context of full respect for national sovereignty,” according to the ministry’s statement.
According to the decision of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Tunisian representatives will also not be eligible to serve on committees or boards of directors of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
WADA said, in a statement, that the “final and immediate effect” non-compliance decision against Tunisia resulted from its “inability to fully implement the 2021 edition of the World Anti-Doping Code within its legal system.”
Tunisia had a period of four months from November 2023 to adopt “a certain number of amendments to legislative and regulatory texts” to comply with the Tunisian Legal Framework Code.
The agency explained that “as of early April, the issues of non-compliance had not yet been resolved,” and the Tunisian National Anti-Doping Organization (ANAD) had not disputed WADA’s allegations of non-compliance.
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2024-05-03 23:52:50