07 April 2026
The IOC’s Great Leap Backwards on Genetic Sex Testing
On 26 March, the International Olympic Committee released its Policy on the Protection of the Female (Women’s) Category in Olympic Sport. Now, to be eligible for the Olympic competitions, all women and girls will have to undergo a genetic test that screens for the SRY gene. This sharp policy change has been in the cards since Kirsty Coventry took the helm of the IOC last year. This post provides a first critical analysis of this U-turn on genetic sex testing, revealing its scientific, procedural, and legal shortcomings. Continue reading >>
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23 March 2023
Peaceful and Neutral Games
In a statement issued on March 17, 2023, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) advocated to uphold the current exclusion of Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials from international competitions. In light of the upcoming Olympic Games in Paris 2024 this topic is currently of great concern to the international sports world. From a human rights perspective, I agree with the core of the DOSB position: the exclusion serves the aims of protecting the rights of Ukrainian athletes and of preventing sporting events from being instrumentalised for war propaganda. These are legitimate reasons for the unequal treatment of Russian athletes. Continue reading >>
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11 October 2022
IOC adds Human Rights Punch to the Lex Olympica
On 9 September 2022, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) published its long-awaited “Strategic Framework on Human Rights”. The new Framework presents an overarching approach as well as concrete action plans for the IOC to address their human rights risks. This blogpost highlights both the potential of the Framework to change the way the IOC operates and the Olympics are organised and the many unknowns remaining regarding its actual transformative impact and concrete implementation in practice. Continue reading >>
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