“Never has the League of Human Rights been called into question in this way,” said Patrick Baudouin, Wednesday on franceinfo. The president of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues denounces “the untruths” of Gérald Darmanin, who threatens to question the public subsidies granted to the Human Rights League.
“It is unprecedented and appalling from the minister of a country which is still qualified as a democracy”reacted on Wednesday April 5 on franceinfo Patrick Baudouin, lawyer and president of the International Federation of Human Rights Leagues (FIDH), after the declarations of Gérald Darmanin before the law commission in the Senate: “I do not know the subsidies given by the State” to the League of Human Rights “but I think it deserves to be looked at in the context of the actions they were able to take”said the Minister of the Interior. “Never has the League of Human Rights been called into question in this way”, says Patrick Baudouin. He denounces “untruths” of the Minister of the Interior and hopes that France will not be “not reduced to these countries which come to censor associations by this financial mechanism to prevent them from functioning”.
franceinfo: You contest what the Minister of the Interior says. How did you take this statement?
Patrick Baudouin: This is unprecedented and appalling from the minister of a country that is still described as a democracy. The League for Human Rights and has existed for 125 years. It has only one compass, it is the defense of the rights and freedoms of all. I believe that it is fairly unanimously recognized as such. Obviously, it is led to challenge the violations of freedoms that may be committed by rulers, regardless of the successive rulers, since it is true that when one is in power, even in democracies, there may be attacks on human rights which are legitimately denounced.
>> “The subsidies given by the State” to the LDH “deserve to be watched”: “Gérald Darmanin is freewheeling”, denounces an LFI deputy
The League of Human Rights has never been called into question in this way, except during a dark period in our history which is the period of Vichy where there, we could not have any subsidy or possibility of action. So it’s still quite amazing. We are not the only ones to dispute and say that there is police violence. There is even the Defender of Rights Claire Hédon who says it even more firmly than us, and the High Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe, with an external international perspective. So I think Mr. Darmanin should come to his senses. What is being asked of him is to stop this cycle which, more and more, is making him plunge into the sphere of the extreme right and which only fuels tension and increases the risk of violence and fractures in the country.
How much grant do you receive?
We have a budget that is a little over two million euros and subsidies represent approximately 30% roughly of this budget. These are subsidies that can come from the State or from public or local authorities, knowing that we are part of a joint action with many ministries. I am thinking, for example, of the Ministry of National Education or other actions that we carry out in conjunction with the State for training and education. Our legitimacy is recognized by the State itself. So to come today, by a veiled threat, to question the subsidies granted to us, it is more than surprising.
“The advantage of Mr. Darmanin’s remarks is that immediately, it sparked, as we have seen today, an influx of donations that we do not usually know.”
Patrick Baudouin, president of the International Federation for Human Rightson franceinfo
If the objective is to gag us by depriving us of subsidies, this will not be achieved because the rest of our budget allows us to survive. Of course, this would force us into spending restrictions and some difficulties. Many people support us. Many people are outraged by this threat which goes well beyond the League of Human Rights. We have been denouncing for months now the attacks on freedoms, freedom of association by this handling of the abandonment of subsidies, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, freedom to demonstrate. And that’s what earned us this reaction from Mr. Darmanin who was obviously very stung during the events in Sainte-Soline.
Gérald Darmanin criticizes you in particular for having been an observer at Sainte-Soline.
He confuses everything. We have created an Observatory of public freedoms and police practices. It’s not new at all. This observatory has existed for several years, and in particular at the time of the Yellow Vests crisis. It is made up of teams, observers, who normally must be protected during demonstrations, to draw up a report of possible violations of rights or violence committed by the police. It has been accepted by the state for a very long time.
Mr. Darmanin also accuses you of attacking the prefectoral decree prohibiting the transport of weapons. Is he right when he says you attacked him and the court rejected your appeal?
There too, it is still a mixture of which Mr. Darmanin is fond. We actually challenged this decree of the prefect of Deux-Sèvres which prohibited the carrying of weapons – and that is completely legitimate. It goes without saying that we are not in favor of demonstrators coming with weapons – but also any object that can be used as a projectile. However, on this, there is a jurisprudence of the Constitutional Council which censures this point by saying, any object that can be used as a projectile, it is too broad. This is what we disputed. It is true that in summary freedom, which is an extremely urgent procedure, the judge in chambers rejected this request. But we are going to get to the bottom and we are going to discuss the very substance of the case. But it goes without saying that we are not for the carrying of arms. It is high time that Mr. Darmanin did not prefer a series of untruths tending or wanting to discredit a human rights defense organization whose only compass, the only raison d’être – and as president, I I really care about that – it’s about respecting the rights and freedoms of everyone, nothing else. And that, without selectivity.
“I would not like us to be brought back, in our country, to these countries which come to censor associations by this financial mechanism to prevent them from functioning.”
Patrick Baudouin, president of the International Federation for Human Rightson franceinfo
It makes you think of liberal regimes like in Hungary, Poland, even Mr. Putin. I hope we are not there yet. And I would like a dialogue to be established. It’s not about being against law enforcement. It is a question of wanting a police force which, in the name of the State, of a responsible State, makes it possible to respect the right and in particular that of demonstrating.