Mthethwa: Semenya ruling ‘gross human rights violation’
Sports, Arts and Culture Minister Nathi Mthethwa has described the ruling by the Swiss supreme court on double Olympic 800m champion Caster Semenya as a violation of women’s rights.
The court dismissed the appeals submitted by Semenya against the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on eligibility regulations for differences of sexual development (DSD) athletes.
CAS last year ordered that athletes with differences of sexual development (DSD) are not allowed to compete in events between 400 and 1500 meters without taking testosterone-reducing drugs.
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Mthethwa believes the decision is unfortunate and unethical.
"Both the South African government and the global sporting community always held a firm view that these regulations are a gross violation of fundamental human rights of DSD female athletes and therefore rallied behind the appeal by both Ms Caster Semenya and Athletics South Africa (ASA) in their legal tussle with the IAAF," he said.
“As the government of democratic South Africa, a country renowned for its tradition of promoting and protecting basic human rights, together with Athletics SA, we will study the judgment and consider various options and avenues at our disposal in our collective campaign to fight this injustice."
