Research and Development in Public Law

Research and Development in Public Law

Doping and the Right to Health: An Analysis of States' International Obligations

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
سپهر صارمی 1
Abdollah Abedini 2
1 PhD Student, Department of Public Law, Faculty of Law and Political Science, University of Allameh Tabataba’i, Tehran, Iran
2 Assistant Professor Assistant Professor of International Law, the Institute for Research and Development in the Humanities
10.22034/jrpl.2025.2070260.1174
Abstract
Doping has emerged as one of the most pressing challenges to both sports justice and public health, attracting growing attention from international institutions over the past decades. While the international anti-doping framework—particularly through the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport and the Council of Europe’s Anti-Doping Convention—has provided a basis for cooperation, these instruments largely emphasize technical coordination and standard-setting rather than imposing strong, enforceable duties upon states. As a result, the insufficient direct and effective involvement of governments continues to represent a key structural gap in the global anti-doping regime.

This article seeks to address this gap by examining the problem of doping through the lens of international human rights law, with a particular focus on the right to health as enshrined in Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). From this perspective, states—including Iran—bear substantive obligations to respect, protect, and fulfill the right to health. These obligations extend beyond the traditional sports regulatory framework and require governments to adopt proactive measures aimed at safeguarding both athletes and society from the harms of doping.

Such measures include, inter alia, implementing comprehensive public education and awareness campaigns, ensuring accessibility of preventive medical advice, and exercising strict supervision over the production, importation, distribution, and consumption of banned substances and methods. In addition, states are expected to establish effective monitoring and enforcement mechanisms capable of deterring organized doping practices, whether at the domestic or transnational level.

By framing doping not merely as a regulatory challenge for sports organizations but as a human rights concern falling within the scope of the right to health, this article highlights the dual responsibility of states: on the one hand, to contribute to the integrity of sport as a public good, and on the other, to safeguard the well-being of their populations. Ultimately, the analysis demonstrates that linking the human rights framework to anti-doping efforts provides both a normative justification and a practical pathway for strengthening state accountability in addressing one of the most complex threats facing contemporary sport and public health.
Keywords
Right to health
Doping
State obligations
International human rights law
ICESCR
Prevention and Education&‌‌‌emsp
Subjects
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Research and Development in Public Law
Volume 2, Issue 4 - Serial Number 4
February 2026
Pages 191-216