He denounces an evolution “highly problematic in a democratic state”. The Defender of Rights says he is concerned about an intensification of the risks of attacks on freedom of association, in a statement aired Friday, April 14.
“Freedom of association is one of the fundamental principles of a democratic society. (…) For several years, the Defender of Rights has denounced a weakening of this freedom which manifests itself in different ways, more or less insidious. in France, insisted the institution in a press release.
“The Defender of Rights notes, through the complaints it receives, an intensification of the risks of infringements of freedom of association”, she continues. This results, for example, in the intimidation of the security forces against associations for the defense of the most precarious, during the eviction of camps of exiles.
LDH controversy
This position comes in the midst of a controversy over the subsidies granted to the League for Human Rights (LDH), which is the subject of a “disturbing stigma”according to the Defender of Rights.
Before the Senate Law Commission on April 5, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, declared that “the subsidy given by the State” at the LDH “worth watching within the framework of the actions that have been carried out”. It was then the Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, who wondered on Wednesday about the evolution and the role of the association, evoking the “ambiguities” of the LDH “in the face of radical Islamism” and on the recent demonstration in Sainte-Soline. However, she assured that he was not “There is no question of lowering the subsidy for this or that in principle” association.
Mention a suspension of subsidies granted by the State and local authorities “implicitly validates the idea that the League of Human Rights could seriously challenge the state, to the point of being able to justify the removal of [ces] subsidies “. Which could “lead to a substantial reduction in its activity”specifies the Defender of Rights.
And to remember: “The European Court of Human Rights considers that the stigmatization of associations by public authorities, combined with the threat of control measures and sanctions, can undermine freedom of association. »