At the meeting of the launching of the UN Global Programme aimed at safeguarding major sporting events and the 1st meeting of the UN International Expert Group on Security of Major Sporting Events (New York, 3-4 February 2020), the Council of Europe presented its Saint-Denis Convention, the only legally-binding instrument in the world on the topic of safety, security and service at sports events.
As the UN starts preparing a set of Global Guidelines to assist Member States Organising Major Sporting Events, it is important to build upon the Council of Europe decades of experience in developing and monitoring standards in this field. The 170 participants at the meeting were encouraged to promote the ratification of the Saint-Denis Convention by a maximum of countries in all continents.
The future UN guidelines could be instrumental to achieve convergence at global level and to support States in accepting the legally-binding standards set out in the Saint-Denis Convention.
