Russian Paralympic Committee Will Have to Apply for Reinstatement

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Photo Courtesy: R-Sport / MIA Rossiya Segodnya

The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) on Monday (21 November) informed the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC) of the reinstatement criteria it must meet in order to have its IPC membership suspension lifted.

The full criteria can be downloaded at https://www.paralympic.org/russian-paralympic-committee-suspension

Developed in consultation with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), the reinstatement criteria identify the core, high-level requirements the RPC must meet in order to be reinstated as an IPC member.

Supporting the reinstatement criteria are the underlying verification criteria, which set out certain specific matters that need to be rectified by the RPC.

To assist with the reinstatement process, the IPC will be appointing a taskforce that will work with the RPC and assist the IPC in determining whether the reinstatement criteria and underlying verification criteria have been met. The taskforce will comprise five individuals including an independent chairperson. The taskforce members will be announced in the coming weeks.

Sir Philip Craven, IPC President, said: “The aim of the reinstatement criteria and the IPC taskforce is to assist the RPC as much as we can in bringing about the significant practical and cultural changes that are required in order for it to fulfil its IPC membership obligations in full.

“Although there is no timeline for the RPC to implement the changes required, we want to work closely with them in order to bring about the necessary changes sooner, rather than later.

“The RPC is an important part of the Paralympic Movement and its athletes want to be competing against the world’s best athletes on the international stage. With the RPC’s full co-operation and transparency, we will immediately lift its suspension once we are confident that all reinstatement criteria and verification criteria have been, and will continue to be, met in full.

“The IPC will also invite the RPC to meet in the coming weeks to go through the reinstatement criteria in full to ensure there is a comprehensive understanding of what is required.”

Reinstatement criteria

The reinstatement criteria outline the conditions the RPC must meet, and continue to meet going forward. They require that the RPC demonstrate (by its own efforts and also by securing the support and assistance of other relevant parties, as necessary) that:

1. The RPC is compliant with all the requirements of the World Anti-Doping Program (including, in particular, the World Anti-Doping Code) and the IPC Anti-Doping Code that are applicable to a National Paralympic Committee.

2. The RPC, IPC, International Federations and RUSADA (once RUSADA has been declared Code-compliant again) are all able to carry out their respective anti-doping activities in Russia and in relation to Russia Para athletes and athlete support personnel effectively and without external interference (as part of this, the RPC will need to adequately address the findings of the McLaren Report).

3. As a result, the participation in IPC-sanctioned competitions of Para athletes and athlete support personnel under the RPC’s jurisdiction will not jeopardise the integrity of those competitions.

Verification criteria

The verification criteria include a number of conditions that need to be met by the RPC, in particular in the following four areas:

• Establishment of an RPC coordination committee
• RPC governance and structure
• Establishment of a strong anti-doping culture
• Anti-doping education, testing and results management

The IPC suspended the RPC on 7 August 2016 due to its inability to fulfil its IPC membership obligations, in particular its obligation to comply with the World Anti-Doping Code (to which it is a signatory) and the IPC Anti-Doping Code. Further details can be found at https://www.paralympic.org/russian-paralympic-committee-suspension.

Press release courtesy of the International Paralympic Committee.

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