France, the cradle of laïcité and the driving force of the anti-sect fight in Europe promoting the separation between State and religion; the State where FECRIS was created and which finances it nearly entirely with public funds.
Between 11 September 2009 and 12 May 2012 there have been 1,372 incidents where the rights of individual believers have been violated. Law enforcement officials have detained 1,278 believers, carried out 136 searches of homes and houses of worship, and disrupted 17 religious services. Individual citizens opposed to Jehovah’s Witnesses have committed 111 acts of violence against at least 208 Jehovah’s Witnesses and committed 85 acts of vandalism against their places of worship. The authorities have done little or nothing to prevent or to punish these criminal acts.
States should ensure that school curriculums, when providing information on religious or belief-related issues, contribute to the elimination of negative stereotypes and prejudices against converts and persons or groups engaged in non-coercive missionary activities. This should also be a guiding consideration for assessing the quality of textbooks used in schools;
2012 HUMAN DIMENSION IMPLEMENTATION MEETING OSCE Warsaw “Sects” and children: the official figures
The Inter-ministerial Mission of Vigilance and Fight against Sectarian Drifts (MIVILUDES), placed directly under the Prime Minister in France, has set in place a policy that directly contradicts Article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights on religious freedom and Article 2 of Protocol No. 1 of the Convention which requires the State to respect the rights of parents to ensure education and teaching in conformity with their own religious convictions.
Created over ten years ago to fight against discrimination of minorities of religion or belief in France, the European Coordination for Freedom of Conscience which I represent wishes to highlight the French policy of stigmatization of parent members of religious minorities and their children.
