UN warns against project to rank female athletes according to their level of testosterone

"Unnecessary, humiliating and harmful" projects to clbadify female athletes according to their testosterone levels "are contrary to international human rights," said the UN Human Rights Council. United.

The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) aims to limit testosterone levels among runners and could even see them compete alongside men.

The debate was fueled by world champion, Caster Semenya, whose case is at the forefront of the current saga.

Caster Semenya, of South Africa, celebrates her gold medal after the women's 800m final at the Rio Olympics

From 2011 to 2015, Semenya took hormone inhibitors to align with the testosterone limits imposed at the time.

The two-time Olympic champion and three-time world champion, who has already taken testosterone-regulating tablets in the past, said in June that the rule was "unfair", adding, "I just want to run naturally, as I was born" 39;

According to the rules of the IAAF, female athletes such as Semenya – because of their naturally higher testosterone levels – would be forced to compete with men or change the event.

Lord Sebastian Coe, president of the IAAF, said the new rules were an attempt to "level the playing field" for all female athletes.

The rules apply to female athletes competing between 400 and 1 km, and their level must be maintained at a certain level "for at least six months before the competition," reports the BBC.

Caster Semenya arrives with his lawyer, Gregory Nott (right) for the first day of hearing before the International Court of Arbitration for Sport of Lausanne, Switzerland, on February 18, 2019

But the IAAF said the UN's response to possible rules is based on "misrepresentations" given to the advisory council.

The issue was debated at the 40th session of the UN Human Rights Council which ended on Friday – and the body expressed its "concerns" regarding the candidacy.

A statement issued at the end of the meeting stated that regulators should refrain from using policies and practices that "compel or compel women and sports athletes to submit to unnecessary, humiliating and harmful medical procedures to participate in female competitive sports events ".

The measures have recently been described as "unscientific" in the British Medical Journal.

A decision was due on March 26, but the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Case) postponed it until next month.