Mr Speaker, I rise in response to the issue around the IAAF World Championships with deeply mixed emotions: that of joy, undoubtedly, at the wonderful performance of our team, but also that of sadness at the way a human being has been treated by an international federation without any regard for her dignity.
In this recent distasteful incident it is clear that the IAAF, as also indicated by the hon Komphela, has badly mishandled the matter and that it has also badly underestimated the strong principles of South Africa and its citizens. The IAAF officials have made public announcements and pronouncements on the gender-testing process and, as a result, has not only embarrassed a talented youngster, but caused a strong and appropriate response from us, the rainbow nation.
Minister Stofile, the Minister of Sport and Recreation, has written a strongly worded letter to the president of the IAAF demanding a retraction of these statements and also demanding an apology. We are awaiting a response from the president of the IAAF to South Africa. We have also gone on record to say that it was intentionally devious for questions to be cast about a particular athlete just before a final event. We all applaud her ability to remain focused and cross the winning line first, despite this. The team arrived back in our country this morning and we have put in place a support system for Miss Semenya and, if they so wish, for members of her family, to help them through this very difficult time. It is important to protect our young athletes and to help them to become stronger in the long run. For indeed, it will be a long run as Miss Semenya lines up for the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games. The type of support we will be giving will be discussed to ensure that we meet the needs of Miss Semenya and her family appropriately.
We have also written to our colleague, the Minister of Women, Youth, Children and People with Disabilities, as well as to the chairpersons of the SA Human Rights Commission and the Commission on Gender Equality. We did so because this is a cross-cutting issue, it's an issue of national importance and it is an issue of human rights and of principle.
I want to compare this to the appalling way that our disabled athlete, Oscar Pistorius, was treated when he took on the might of this very same international federation to assert his right to compete against athletes without disabilities. All of this indicates that much work still needs to be done within athletics and other international federations to instil a fundamental respect for human rights and dignity.
We, in the Ministry of Sport and Recreation, support the call for these issues to be taken to the United Nations Human Rights Commission. To assist in this process, I requested from a full report the president of Athletics SA this morning a full report so that we can address the issue from a basis of full and complete information. I thank you. [Time expired.] [Applause.]
Madam Chair, may I address you on a point of procedure here? Members make statements and Ministers reply, but Ministers reply, presumably, off the cuff because they do not know what members are going to say. Why is it that the hon Deputy Minister of Sport and Recreation is able to stand up and read a statement? Something in the process has quite clearly gone wrong, and I do ask you to consider this. [Interjections.]
Hon member, the hon members make statements and the hon Minister has given information based on those statements.
But, Madam Chair, is that the correct procedure? [Interjections.] I mean, we could play all kinds of games in the House with ANC members standing up and making statements and Ministers responding in the same way.
Hon Mike Ellis, I think when members make their statements, they want to get information on what is happening. That is exactly what the Deputy Minister was doing.
Madam Chair, with regard to your ruling, may I simply ask: Are the Ministers now asking that the DA hand in their statements beforehand so that they can prepare their answers as well? [Interjections.]
Hon Mike Ellis, you cannot decide on how the Ministers and Deputy Ministers respond to your statements. So just allow the Deputy Ministers and Ministers to respond to information they believe is of importance.