Miviludes — Annual Report (2004)

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Report to the Prime Minister

THE SECTARIAN RISK

Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations - MIVILUDES-

La Documentation Française

SUMMARY

INTRODUCTION 4

I – ACTIVITIES

11 –Legislative Activity 8

12 –Interministerial Activity 11

13 –Parliamentary Activity - Written questions 16

14 –Administrative Activity - Ministries 23

15 –Administrative Activity - Prefectures 48

16 –Associative Activity 53

17 – Information and Educational Activity 56

II – ANALYSES

21 –The sectarian risk 62

22 –Legal Decisions 66

23 –Developments 71

24 –Protection of minors 77

25 –International Comparisons 85

26 –Evaluation of the propositions of the 2003 report 92

27 –Propositions of 2004 report 97

CONCLUSION 109

APPENDICES 110 INTRODUCTION

In our 2003 report, MIVILUDES undertook to define the concept of a "sectarian aberration".

This year the Mission has decided to use the notion of "risk", which is just as problematic, but essential, to present the most recent developments of the phenomenon which it is charged with analyzing and combating.

By giving priority to the aspect of prevention, MIVILUDES respects its obligations:

to inform the public about the risks, and in some cases the dangers, to which it is exposed by sectarian aberrations;

to promote, while respecting the right of freedom of opinion, the coordination of preventive and repressive action by the authorities to deal with such behavior.

The first part of the report, entitled "Activities", presents an assessment of the past year. First, it examines the legal reforms implemented. In this regard 2004 was an important year. The law on bioethics, and that dealing with psychotherapy, represent advances in the area we are concerned with: they should put a stop to propaganda in favor of reproductive cloning and provide a better legal framework for a profession that is exposed to certain aberrations. The activity of national bodies, and of MIVILUDES, is presented through the work of the Pilot Executive Committee and the Orientation Council, which met at the appointed times.

This first part also reports the activities, at the local level, of our regional correspondents and the prefectoral cells of vigilance. It also summarizes the written questions (about fifty) of parliamentary deputies, to which the ministers addressed gave detailed answers.

Next, this report presents in detail the reports of the different government administrations represented on the Executive committee. Their contributions highlight the variety of their approaches, but also their complementarity, which makes this government structure an important aspect of the global public strategy.

Next, for the first time, we report the activity of the main associations for aid to victims.

The second part of this report, Analyses, begins with a study of the "sectarian risk", its specific characteristics and its various dimensions.

This synthesis of the theories and studies developed for the notion of the psychological hold a sect can have on its followers, and the harm it can do them, is due to different specialists, including members of the MIVILUDES Orientation Council, psychiatrists, psychologists, lawyers and philosophers. It especially emphasizes how difficult it can be to realize the extent of the harm suffered by victims of such subjection.

Further directions are suggested for improving aid to victims, and more clearly identifying the person or persons responsible for the infraction, which is a necessary condition for equitable repair of the damage caused.

The next chapter summarizes the major legal decisions in both penal and civil cases. Our jurisprudence was enriched by a number of important decisions.

Adopting a direct operational approach, this second part next lists the main sectors under invasion at present, like markets to be exploited, by the organizations and groups susceptible to sectarian aberrations: professional training, health care, and education.

In a sensitive area, where the number of children in danger has not diminished, MIVILUDES has made the protection of minors one of its central aims.

In the chapter dedicated to this high-priority subject, we recall the consequences of the sectarian risk for children, especially for those who are brought up in closed communities and cut off from contact with the external world that might help their future development. The Mission has also tried to draw attention to the fragile population of adolescents who are engaged in building their personal identity, by indicating how certain sectarian organizations make use of seductive discourse, often via the anonymous or disguised contacts the Internet makes possible. The case of Satanism is developed as an example.

The last chapter deals with the Mission's international contacts and cites them to briefly sketch the strategies adopted by some of our partners. Sometimes a difference of perception can be seen. This motivates a defense and illustration of the French conception of secularity.

First Part

ACTIVITIES 11 - Legislative activity

1- Regulating the title of "psychotherapist"

For years the legislator has shown interest in providing better protection for those intending to resort to psychotherapy: there are 20,000 to 30,000 people in France who claim to be members of this "profession", and they can be divided into four main categories:

psychiatrists, who are medical specialists belonging to the order of physicians, and are authorized to prescribe drugs;

psychologists, who can use this title only if they hold an advanced university diploma, and are bound to the Code of Ethics of the French Psychological Society;

psychoanalysts, who may hold a university diploma, and are most often attached to a particular school of thought;

psychotherapists who belong to none of the three previous groups.

In its report for the year 2000, the MILS had already emphasized the problem raised by the absence of a statute regulating this profession, which anyone at all can practice without violating the law, even though certain therapies presented as new offer possibilities for aberrations of the sectarian type.

On October 8, 2003, The French National Assembly unanimously adopted an amendment presented by deputy Bernard ACCOYER, aimed at regulating psychotherapy. This amendment reserves the practice of psychotherapy to psychiatrists, doctors and psychologists who have professional qualifications, as defined by decree. It also provides that those professionals who do not possess these qualifications but have been practicing for more than five years may continue their activity on the proviso that, within three years, they satisfy an evaluation, by a competent jury, of their knowledge and practices.

This amendment gave rise to much discussion, and that led to the adoption, on July 30, 2004, of a new text included in law n \circ 2004-806, of August 9, 2004 relating to public health policy. This text stipulates that henceforth the title of psychotherapist is reserved for professionals who are enrolled on a national register of psychotherapists (art. 52). This registration will be recorded in a list prepared by the government representative in each department and will mention the therapist's professional training. Medical doctors, trained psychologists, and psychoanalysts regularly listed in the annual registers of their associations are included in this list by right.

This mechanism allows identification of non-standard practitioners who claim to be "therapists". However, it does not protect their clients from sectarian abuse.

2- The criminalization of reproductive cloning and penal dispositions of the law on bioethics

On August 7, 2004, law n \circ 2004-800 dated August 6, 2004 was published in the official journal. Among its many provisions, this text specifies as crimes certain kinds of behavior involving eugenics and reproductive cloning, for which the punishment is thirty years imprisonment and a fine of 7,500,000 euros:

engaging in eugenic practices aimed at organized selection of individuals (art. 214-1),

any intervention aimed at bringing about the birth of a child genetically identical to another person, living or dead (art. 214-2).

This law also punishes, with life imprisonment and a fine of 7,500,000 euros, these same infractions when they are committed by an organized group (art. 214-3) as well as participation in a group or association created in view of the preparation, as established by one or more material proofs, of one of the crimes defined by articles 214-1 and 214-2 of the Penal Code. (Art. 214-4 of the Penal Code).

Lastly, a new article, 511-1-2, of the Penal Code punishes with three years imprisonment and a 45,000 euro fine all propaganda or advertising, in any form, in favor of eugenics or reproductive cloning.

When this law was promulgated, the Interministerial Mission questioned the Minister of Justice about the conditions under which articles 214-4 and 511-1-2 of the Penal Code were applicable to the activities of the Raelian movement and its leaders. This query was seconded and completed by the written question of deputy Georges FENECH addressed to the Minister of Justice on August 31, 2004 regarding what dispositions were planned for these new criminal offenses.

The Minister of Justice answered on October 5, 2004: "First of all, It must be determined whether there are enterprises or laboratories linked to these movements and then whether such establishments are engaging in such activity or, at least, are attempting to do so, for example by trying to recruit donors of gametes. If this is found, then all the infractions stipulated in the new law could be applicable at all levels of involvement. Likewise, if the sectarian movement has its headquarters abroad, its director, legal or real, the physical person, is liable to punishment, if he is of French nationality. Extraterritorial application is envisaged under the same conditions to punish the crime commonly called "client-cloning", which is to participate in obtaining cells or gametes with the aim of reproductive cloning.

Health professionals who engage in concrete acts aimed at carrying out reproductive cloning or eugenic acts are subject to prosecution as perpetrators of the crimes and offenses constituted by each act. Lastly, article 511-1-2 of the Penal Code punishes propaganda or advertising, in any form, in favor of eugenics or reproductive cloning. ... If evidence can be obtained showing that the leader or members of a sectarian movement are acting in violation of this new law, the Minister of Justice assures you that the Chancellery will not fail to insure strict application of the penal code".

It would seem that the message sent by the legislators was quickly grasped by the Raelian Movement of France, which, on August 28, 2004, published a press communiqué to announce that, respectful of the law, it would henceforth abstain from the promotion of cloning.

12- Interministerial Activity

The MIVILUDES Orientation Council

"The mission chairman will periodically convene an Orientation Council composed of persons named, by order of the Prime Minister, for their competence or experience, with an agenda he has established. With its activity, this Council will help to nourish the thinking of the public authorities about sectarian aberrations, to suggest orientations and possible actions for the Mission, and to favor evaluation of this action" 1

The Orientation Council met four times during 2004, twice with the Executive Committee (January 15, and June 30).

The January 15 meeting was devoted to a joint rereading of the 2003 report by the members of the Orientation Council and the Executive Committee. This report, entitled "Sectarian Aberrations", was submitted a few days later to the Prime Minister by Chairman LANGLAIS, and presented to the press on January 26.

At the April 28th meeting, the Council heard M. Rémy SCHWARTZ, Secretary General of the Commission for reflection on the application of the principle of secularity in France. He indicated that the sectarian phenomenon was too broad and too complex to be treated by the Commission. It did, however, hear the chairman of MIVILUDES.

M. SCHWARTZ essentially recalled the historical foundations of the principle of secularity, in particular the separation, in 1905, of church and state and the neutrality this implies for the French Republic. He also spoke of the reason why the Commission was in favor of a law on the wearing of signs or clothing that openly manifest religious affiliation in the public schools.

His presentation was followed by a discussion with the members of the Orientation Council. The report of the Council of State, entitled "A century of secularity", was discussed. Other themes were treated, such as days of leave, respect of the principle of secularity in the hospital, the problems raised by immigration, etc.

At the June 30th meeting, the chairman of MIVILUDES presented an evaluation of the "Sects and secularity" seminar, praising this initiative, which was sponsored jointly with the Ministry of Research and the Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes. Suggested subjects for further reflection should, in particular, support public policies aimed at the prevention of sectarian risks.

Mention was also made of the colloquium "The lawyer and sectarian aberrations", which was a response to one of the ten propositions of the 2003 report: "Improving awareness of the sectarian problem in the legal professions". The theme of civil redress for damage caused to victims seems to be of major interest. Me CAZELLE mentioned the principle of improving help to victims of sectarian aberrations in questions of civil liability.

The representative of the National Council of the Order of Physicians confirmed that the medical profession would welcome information about the handling of victims.

The chairman of MIVILUDES suggested setting up a work group to study the possibilities for extending the reparations for harm caused to victims of sectarian movements.

An update was presented concerning the implementation of the ten propositions for 2004. In the case of the legal propositions, proposition 2: "Facilitate reporting of individuals in a state of weakness" was the object of much discussion, by the representatives of the Chancellery, the National Council of the Order of Physicians and the Council of State. The discussion concerned allowing those who have an obligation of professional secrecy (the medical and legal professions, in particular lawyers and notaries) to report to the legal authorities cases of fraudulent abuse of weakness that come to their attention.

To conclude this meeting, the chairman of MIVILUDES proposed and summarized some orientations for future Mission activities:

upstream work on the definition of sectarian risk;

study of the possibilities for civil reparation of damages caused to victims;

joint reflection with national education authorities about the message to be aimed at adolescents;

pursuit of the work on Satanism;

work on communication with the media;

thinking about the possible relevance of creating a "resource center" within MIVILUDES.

The last meeting of the Orientation Council took place at the subprefecture of Reims, on October 15, 2004. Two important subjects were presented and opened to discussion: the project of a "Guide for the public agent confronted with sectarian aberrations" and a question concerning "Sectarianism, integrism, fanaticism, and communitarianism".

As for the Guide, the members of the Council saw this document for general information and the training of government agents as a useful initiative. The practical and pedagogical aspect of the document was stressed. The representative of the Order of Physicians urged that the Guide should be widely circulated to those working in the public hospitals.

The representative of the Ministry of Defense hoped that all gendarme brigades would receive the guide. Many speakers expressed approval of the information concerning the notion of a menace to public order. Observations were made about the situation in the overseas departments and territories (DOM-TOM), whose special characteristics should be taken into account. Lastly, a postface is to be added which takes into account the ethical obligations of government service and the values of the French Republic.

The preliminary presentation of a member of MIVILUDES focused on defining the notions of sectarianism, integrism, fanaticism and communitarianism. A searching discussion concerned possible aberrations within the established religions and the place of Islam.

Lastly, the Orientation Council was consulted on January 13, 2005, about the draft of the 2004 activity report. There was a very constructive exchange between the members present, which is reflected in the definitive version.

The Executive committee

"The chairman of MIVILUDES shall preside over a Pilot Executive Committee composed of representatives of the ministry departments concerned. This Executive Committee will meet at least six times a year on convocation by the Mission chairman, who will establish the agenda."2.

During 2004, the Pilot Executive Committee (CEPO) met on six occasions, of which two were joint sessions with the Orientation Council (on January 15 and June 30).

At an early meeting, on March 3, the exchanges mainly concerned the reactions received, after publication of the 2003 activity report, from the administrations, the public, and foreign countries. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs emphasized the positive feedback to the notion of sectarian aberration. Press articles were reviewed, whose overall tone was positive.

Discussion about the implementation of the ten propositions gave rise to fruitful exchanges, especially with respect to revising the rules for proscription, improving social investigations in legal proceedings, verification of educational offers, and aid to victims.

The chairman of MIVILUDES expressed the hope that this implementation would be a major focus for the year 2004.

Some dispositions were taken concerning the transmission of administrative documents requested by certain associations from the Commission for Access to Administrative Documents (CADA).

The opening of the Internet site was discussed, and the site architecture and its subject matter were presented.

At the May 6 meeting, the main topic was concrete actions by the administrations. Among the subjects discussed were illegal practices involving undeclared work, theories of Indigo children, and the practices of closed communities.

Even this partial survey allowed those present to appreciate the efforts of the administrations, at both the local and national levels.

An update was presented concerning the training of public agents: the training of "sect correspondents" in the education system; an interschool session at the higher school of national education at Poitiers; training of personnel at the Paris mayor's office, etc.

With regard to the training of public agents, it was decided that MIVILUDES would assume responsibility for the training of supervisory staff, while each ministry would handle other categories of personnel.

The chairman reported on his mission to Austria. Information is regularly supplied to members of the CEPO concerning foreign missions (Austria, Italy, Romania, Russia, Spain).

In autumn, on September 29, the project for a "Guide for the public agent confronted with sectarian aberrations" was presented; the quality of the discussion helped improve this tool for informing and educating government employees. The members of the CEPO played an active role, contributing to preparation of the texts and distribution of the Guide.

At the same period, the chairman of MIVILUDES presented the orientations of the 2004 activity report, whose main theme is to be "Sectarian risk". He asked the CEPO for a contribution to the report, for the section on "Activities" at the ministry and local levels.

The representative of the Ministry of the Interior proposed, on the occasion of the commemoration of the law for the separation of church and state, to give more prominence to the principle of secularity.

The representatives of the Ministry of Justice and of National Education requested that the question of parental authority be treated, since the Lyons Court of Appeals had been presented with a case of parents who wanted to withdraw their children from the school system for religious reasons.

Finally, the CEPO was regularly informed of parliamentary questions and the answers given.

13 - Parliamentary activity- written questions

Between January 1 and November 30,2004, 50 written questions (compared to 33 in 2003) were submitted by deputies.

The Ministers of Justice, Social affairs, and Health got questioned the most often, followed by the Minister of the Interior and the Prime Minister, and, less often, the ministers of National Education and Economy, Finance, and Industry.

The main subjects were: Scientology (14 questions), Jehovah's Witnesses (3), Kryeon and Indigo children, Tabitha's Place and, in last place, the Church of Euthanasia.

The ABOUT-PICARD law alone prompted 7 queries. The dispositions concerning reproductive cloning contained in the law on bioethics and problems of medical secrecy and the legal protection of doctors were also treated, as well as the regulation of the professions of psychotherapist and sophrologist (4) and proselytizing in the hospital setting or at catastrophe sites (3).

Certain responses which shed new light or add precision to the positions of the public authorities will be cited below.

EDUCATION/CHILDREN

Minors receiving home schooling/ sectarian influence

"In application of the law of December 18, 1998, instruction given to home-schooled minors is regularly checked by national education inspectors. For the school year 2002-2003, 1156 children were home-schooled. It is very difficult to single out those who are home-schooled for "pseudo-religious" reasons, since the parents are not required to give a precise reason. The many inspections carried out (677) for that school year seem, however, to indicate that a significant proportion of these pupils (10 to 20 %), correspond to the group indicated by your question 3 . When parents fail to respect the obligation to have their home-schooling evaluated, the school authorities automatically inform the public prosecutor. As a result a number of legal procedures are underway. Some procedures have already led to the separation of children from their families 4 .

Inspection of vacation and recreational facilities

"The law of July 17, 2001, with various dispositions of a social, educational and cultural nature, increased the obligations of those who wish to open daytime holiday and recreational facilities. It introduced the notion of an educational project to be filed by the directors of such a center with the administrative authorities. Since this law has been on the books, there has been no opposition to the opening of a facility because of the sectarian character of the educational project. Furthermore, during the inspections carried out in the summer seasons of 2002 and 2003, no violation of the different obligations of directors of vacation and recreational facilities was observed"5.

Information on the sectarian phenomenon in school programs

"... Along with the provisions for combating sects that have been introduced in national education (circular n \circ 2002-120 MEN-DAJ), an approach based on reasoned arguments, supported with frequent reminders and a clear statement of the basic values at the heart of schooling, is needed to enlighten pupils about the alienation and dangers resulting from membership in sectarian groups. The school programs for civic education which are obligatory from primary school to high school are designed to help each child to a personal appropriation of the knowledge, values, and principles that are the foundations of citizenship. Building on themes such as "freedom", "rights", "duties", "justice", and "security", the indispensable reflection on sectarian phenomena can be stimulated in ways appropriate for each age and level" 6 .

HEALTH

The protection of minors / reporting by doctors of violence

"The protection of doctors who report acts of mistreatment of children was modified by articles 11 (paragraph 2) and 12 of law n \circ 2004-1 of January 2, 2004 relating to the treatment and protection of children. This text modifies article 226-14 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code and deletes the next-to-last paragraph of article L. 4124-6 of the Code of public health. The result of these changes is that the obligation to maintain professional secrecy and the liability to sanctions for its violation that are stipulated by article 226-13 paragraph 2 of the Penal Code, are eliminated for 'the doctor who, with the consent of the victim, brings to the attention of the public prosecutor the mistreatment or privations which he has observed, either physical or mental, in the exercise of his profession, and which allow him to presume that physical, sexual or psychological violence of some sort has been committed.

When the victim is minor, consent is not necessary'. Furthermore, the suppression of the next to last paragraph of article L.4124- 6 of the Public Health Code, which deals with the disciplinary procedures which the doctor might be exposed to and the sanctions he might incur nullifies these provisos" 7

Proselytizing in the hospital...

“... The Minister states that a decree is forthcoming to determine the conditions for approval and withdrawal of approval for associations representing the users of hospital or public health facilities. He indicates that his services are especially aware of the risk of sectarian aberrations, and that, in these conditions, the criteria-defined in this decree-which allow approval will be examined with care ..."8.

... and at catastrophe sites

"Early in 2004, the Ministry of Health, the Family and the Handicapped published and circulated a booklet of 49 pages entitled: "Collective accidents, terrorist attacks, and natural catastrophes: behavior guidelines for health professionals". This brochure contains one section (pp. 44 and 45) dedicated expressly to the theme: "The risk of sectarian aberrations: the intervention of sects at catastrophe sites". This section explains how sectarian movements try to gain a hold over the victims of catastrophes, and calls for the vigilance of professionals in light of the increasing presence of these movements at such sites. 9

ASSOCIATIONS

1901 law associations and sectarian movements

"There is no specific regulation for so-called sectarian movements. Common law is applicable to them, including in the matter of creating an association. It is true that many movements of a sectarian character are constituted as associations under the law of July 1, 1901 relating to contracts of association.

The administration cannot refuse this status, if the appropriate formalities have been carried out: it has in this matter a dependent competence, which requires it to deliver the document. There is no prior checking which would allow it to rule out movements of a sectarian character. However, as with any declared association, the sectarian movement, according to article 3 of the law of 1901, must not have an illicit goal, in violation of the law, of morality, or harmful to the integrity of the territory and the republican form of government. If warranted, the public Ministry can decide to start a procedure of dissolution, in conformity with article 7 of the law of 1901 ... 10 .

Provision of space/ Demand for the communication of the accounts of an association of worship

"... The providing of space or material support cannot be assimilated to a subsidy in a case where it concerns associations or organizations that cannot legally be subsidized, such as an association of worship, or a trade union organization working for a goal broader than the local interest of the commune. In this case, communication of the annual accounts of the association cannot be demanded by the commune" 11

Jehovah's Witnesses / Status as a group of worship

"The decisions of the highest legal instances have not taken the refusal of blood transfusion by Jehovah's witnesses to be a menace to public order. However, if such practices are considered, by the medical personnel involved, as pressures violating individual freedom, they can denounce this behavior to the competent legal instances with the aim of bringing about, if this pressure is held to constitute violence, threat, blackmail, or extortion, the dissolution of the association responsible 12 .

Jehovah's Witnesses / affiliation with CAVIMAC (old-age, disability, and health insurance organization for religious groups)

"... Enrollment in the religious group health plan of ministers of Jehovah's Witnesses was carried out in conformity with the legal and regulatory dispositions applying to the enrollment of ministers and members of religious congregations and groups, as provided in articles L. 721-1 and R. 721-1 to R. 721-12 of the social security code. Since its origin, the existence of this health plan has not been taken to be in contradiction with the principle of secularity, and to this day no reason has been put forth to believe that it is ...

13 .

Taxation/ registration of manual gifts

"Article 15 of the law of finances for 1992, codified in the second paragraph of article 757 of the General Tax Code, introduced an obligation to declare or register manual gifts revealed to the tax administration and subjected these gifts to free mutation rights under the same conditions as other donations. In the absence of an act reporting them, such donations revealed to the tax administration by the donor must be declared, within one month of their revelation, using a form （ n° 2735) furnished by the administration. These dispositions are applicable to manual gifts made to associations. ... 14

Illegal work / inspections

"... As for fraudulent behavior by groups of a sectarian character, the services for labor inspection have already had to deal with such groups. For instance, in the Eure, in 1996 and 1998, they charged the Association of Jehovah's Witnesses with a series of infractions to the Work Code. Lastly, the DILTI (Interministerial Delegation for Combating Illegal Work) is a member of the task force created at the Ministry of Employment, Labor, and Social Cohesion which collaborates with the instances of the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations, created in November 2002 and reporting to the Prime Minister" 15

ASSESSMENT OF THE APPLICATION OF THE ABOUT-PICARD LAW

"With respect to the offense of fraudulent abuse of ignorance or weakness specified and sanctioned by article 223-15-2 of the Penal Code, as of October 1, 2003, we counted three preliminary investigations and five legal proceedings. Of the three preliminary investigations, two opened under the sole heading of fraudulent abuse of ignorance or weakness, were dropped, and the third, under this heading and that of clandestine work was also dropped. As for the five legal proceedings opened under the heading of abuse of weakness and fraud, one was a nonsuit, and the four others are still pending 1 6 .

"The Minister of Justice informs the honorable deputy that the proviso for dissolution of a movement of sectarian character condemned for any of the infractions stipulated in article 1 of the law of June 12, 2001, has not been realized to date, due to the absence of the definitive condemnations required by this law. This disposition requires that two definitive condemnations must have been pronounced against the legal entity or the director, in law or in fact, of this legal entity, for any of the listed infractions" 17

JUSTICE

Mechanism for the development and application of government policy

"To combat the sectarian phenomenon, the legal institution has developed three approaches: designation of a correspondent for sectarian matters in the attorney general's office, exchange of information between magistrates of the court and associations for combating the sectarian phenomenon, and institutionalization of meetings for concerted action. The procedures are thus coordinated at the regional level by a magistrate of the attorney general's office. At present, it does not seem appropriate, in addition to this magistrate, to create a specialized instance to deal with legal matters in which sectarian groups are implicated. This is because the harm to persons and property committed in these cases involve different offenses, which are either a matter of general penal law, or special penal law. Furthermore, it is essential that all magistrates should be well informed about these questions. For this purpose, the National School for Magistrates organizes training sessions each year which help magistrates to improve their knowledge in this domain" 18

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

Report of the U.S. State Department

"The American State Department publishes each year a report on freedom of religion, covering all countries. Until 2001, this report was critical of France, citing the French policy directed at "sects", commonly called in the U.S.

and in many multilateral settings "new religious movements". The elimination of the Interministerial Mission of Combat against Sects (MILS) and its replacement by the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations (MIVILUDES) have contributed to renewal of a serener dialogue on this question. Thus, the 2003 report of the American State Department on freedom of religion around the world no longer criticizes French policy in this area. ... The effort of explanation undertaken has thus begun to bear fruit. It should be pursued."19.

14 - ACTIVITY OF THE MINISTRIES

Justice Foreign Affairs Interior, Internal Security, and Local Liberties Defense Economy, Finance, and Industry National Education, Higher Education and Research Youth, Sports, and Associative Life Solidarities, Health, and the Family Employment, Labor, and Social Cohesion MINISTRY OF JUSTICE

Division of criminal affairs and pardons Division of civil affairs and chancellery

ACTIVITY OF THE MISSION ON SECTS

Follow-up on cases of public action

To this effect, the Mission on sects is in regular contact with the magistrates designated as correspondents within each Court of Appeals.

In addition, the mission head maintains regular relations with his counterparts in the other ministry departments, in particular with the general department of taxation and the general service for customs and indirect rights, when necessary with the help of the two specialized cadres in the service of criminal affairs and pardons.

Training

In the matter of training about the sectarian phenomenon, for the seventh consecutive year the National School for Magistrates (ENM) organized a one-week session on sects, conducted by the head of the mission on sects of the department of criminal affairs and pardons, aimed at magistrates and personnel of the administrations in contact with this phenomenon.

It is worth noting that the commission for access to administrative documents (CADA), on February 2, 2004, issued a negative ruling with respect to requests for communication of the names and titles of the speakers and participants in training sessions from 1990 to 2003 and of the correspondence addressed to them.

Activity of the mission on sects

The work of the mission on sects, for the year 2004, essentially involved following the cases of children in sectarian movements, and especially the moving around of children born of parents who are themselves members.

In addition, as MIVILUDES observes, small groups were detected, when engaging in activities harmful to individual freedom.

Furthermore, the activities of certain associations, directed at prisoners and magistrates charged with the surveillance of psychiatric hospitals, motivated a circular by the service of criminal affairs and pardons addressed to magistrates.

Lastly, it is necessary to provide support for victims of sects in cases going to trial, since it has been observed that the sect's continuing hold over them can result in the complainant's retracting his previous statements or minimizing their import, through fear of reprisal.

It should also be noted that there still exists, in spite of improved awareness by the public authorities of the sectarian phenomenon, some reticence by legal authorities to take seriously the statements of these followers, the victims, when they do not have sufficiently detailed testimony to back up their complaints.

The main jurisprudence acquired during the year 2004 will be the object of a separate analysis in part 2 of this report.

Here we will simply cite a decision of the Court of Appeals (September 28, 2004) which observes that the statutes of the UNADFI do not give it the mission to directly undertake civil actions.

By its statutes, the UNADFI (National Union of Associations for the Defense of families and the individual), founded on March 18, 1982, has as its sole object that of linking, supporting, and coordinating the various local Associations for the Defense of Families and the Individual (ADFI) and all regularly declared associations. The object of the latter is to alert and defend families and the individual against the practices of groups, movements or organizations of a sectarian character. Nevertheless, unlike the National Union, these local associations are not recognized as of public utility. Therefore they cannot become plaintiffs.

This decision of the Court of Appeals provisionally makes it impossible for the UNADFI to join as a plaintiff in the sense of article 2-17 of the Code of penal procedure. This situation can only be resolved by a legal reform or a modification of its statutes, which is what the association is currently engaged in.

Department of Legal Protection of Youth

Joint action within the Ministry of Justice concerning questions on sects

In 2004 the Department of Legal Protection of Youth (DPJJ) continued its joint partnership with the mission on sects of the Department of Criminal Affairs and Pardons.

In this framework, it has been regularly tracking certain dossiers involving educational assistance for minors who are being followed by juvenile court judges, and for whom there is a direct link to a sectarian problem. A dozen active dossiers, concerning about a hundred minors, were tracked in 2004.

Each dossier was brought up to date, with updating of the records of each minor involved, and a more general reflection about approaches likely to be pursued in 2005. Among these, the assignment of a PJJ correspondent for sects in each of the regional departments for the legal protection of youth, to work with the correspondent of the appeals courts, seems to be favored.

Questionnaire for jurisdictions

On April 15, 2003, a questionnaire was sent by the Department of Legal Protection of Youth to all children's court judges, whose aim was to support analysis of effective ways of delineating the sectarian phenomenon, to better target the difficulties that arise in dealing with these procedures, and to detect possible needs for further training.

This questionnaire was analyzed, and its results, with the subjects' names removed, were presented during the second semester of 2004 in a report entitled "Sectarian Problems".

The responses indicate that a small proportion of the dossiers assigned to child court judges have a sectarian problem as a main element (1.4 out of 1000).

It must be pointed out, however, that qualitatively such dossiers can involve a heavier workload for magistrates and the educational services.

The report, transmitted to the services concerned, may be useful for training purposes.

A judgment of the Court of Appeals of Lyons, dated September 7, 2004, revised a decision of the children's judge of Villefranche-sur-Saône dated December 11, 2003, which found that there was no need for legal educational intervention regarding three minor children of the same family.

The public prosecutor had appealed this decision, considering that it was indispensable to apply a measure of educational assistance given the convictions of the parents, who were members of a movement whose doctrine constitutes a danger for the children.

Both parents in this case were members of the movement Sahaja Yoga, whose doctrine advocates that children are to be taken in charge by structures linked to the movement. The oldest of the children had spent several periods of several months, first in Italy, then in India, and the youngest was to follow the same program, a project which had been blocked by the measure of educational assistance.

The parents stated that they no longer envisaged sending their children abroad, and believed that the conditions of article 375 of the Civil Code were no longer satisfied.

However the conclusions of the expert's report were that the children were in psychological danger, "given the very strong hold on their parents due to their adhesion to the theses of the Sahaja Yoga movement".

The Court concluded that the conditions for the education of these minors were thus seriously compromised, and it ordered a measure of educational assistance in an open setting for the three children, for a period of one year, mentioning that the experts did not exclude the possibility of a separation to protect the children if "the alliance" with the parents was not successful.

This decision is of interest in that it establishes a direct link between the doctrine of a movement and the notion of danger in the sense of article 375 of the Civil Code.

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Foreign attitudes

In other countries, there is no foreseeable change in the approach to the problem of sectarian aberrations. Although the sectarian phenomenon persists, nothing indicates that it is getting worse, and no major drama has recently drawn public attention. Unless there is some unpredictable change, which is always possible if an event occurs of the kind that arouses deep feelings, the situation should remain the same. Some of our partners, such as the United States, are mainly sensitive to the risks that specific regulation might have for freedom, in particular religious freedom. Our European neighbors, more conscious of the need to remain watchful, have adopted a relatively discrete approach, and nothing suggests that it is going to be reinforced. All rely on prevention, education, the promotion of human rights, and individual freedom, rather than on specific legislation and structures. As for the few countries in the world which favor an attitude of firmness with respect to sects, it may be feared that they will use the arsenal they envisage creating for political ends. We observe, nevertheless, that the French exception, while it is no more imitated than before, is better understood and regarded with interest. The reports of the U.S. State department on religious freedom in the world describe our approach without criticizing it. Criticisms directed against France in such international bodies as the OSCE have, for the most part, ceased. Some of our European partners have shown their interest in exchanges of useful practices.

In Belgium, the mechanism involves an independent body created in 1998 by the Ministry of Justice, the Center for information and advice on harmful sectarian organizations (CIAOSN). Its composition and functioning were defined in 2004 by law. Its missions concern the study of the sectarian phenomenon in the country, as well as its connections abroad. It receives and informs the public, and makes documentation available. It assists any person who asks with information on how to exercise his or her rights. It cannot by itself lodge a complaint, but it encourages the victims of sectarian practices to do so. It issues opinions and recommendations about harmful sectarian organizations, and, in particular, on the strategy to adopt in dealing with them.

The CIAOSN is composed of eight full members and eight deputy members, half of them named by the House of Representatives, half by the Council of Ministers. It publishes a report every two years. Its opinions are respected and its positions always interest public opinion. In 2004, it was opposed to the Church of Scientology.

The Raelians and some evangelical groups are also among the organizations cited in its communications.

Overall, our European partners adopt a very liberal approach to the sectarian phenomenon. In countries of Anglo-Saxon tradition, which have long been accustomed to the flowering, and reflowering, of religious movements, this is a deliberate attitude. In Great Britain anyone can create a "church" and there are no constraints on its functioning. However some control is exercised by the Charity Commission, an independent government-funded organization which tracks the activities of religious associations and can grant or refuse them the status of a "charity", which corresponds to the notion of an organization of public utility in France. Alongside the public authorities, there are associations that have been created for counseling or defending victims of sects. In the Netherlands there are no specific regulations applying to sects. There is no official document providing statistics on religious movements. Only public order and health protection can motivate restrictions on religious freedom. In certain Scandinavian countries, however, the existence of the "status" of a religion, accompanied by identificatory criteria, allows some control (thus the Church of Scientology was not able to obtain this status in Denmark).

In the Mediterranean countries (Italy, Spain, Greece), the concern for individual freedom is not as predominant, but the existence of a very dominant religion produces the same result, so strong is the conviction that the new religious movements constitute a marginal and negligible phenomenon. In Italy, a bill aimed at adding the offense of mental manipulation to the Penal Code is still under examination. In Greece there is no mechanism for surveillance, nor, a fortiori, any specific structure. The only associations that can be called to account are those which have committed infractions to the Penal Code. In Spain, the appearance of sects in the sixties led only to very prudent steps on the road of prevention and repression (commissions to study the sectarian phenomenon, specialized police action targeting "destructive" sects); the recommendations of a joint Justice / Interior commission of 1999 were not translated into law. But while it is true that in these countries the preponderant role of the traditional churches has been a brake on the sectarian phenomenon, it has nonetheless been developing. Greece is said to have several hundred movements which might be called "sectarian". In Spain, sects seem to be in a phase of consolidation and the rapid development of the Internet has facilitated sectarian propaganda. The shock caused by the recent Islamist attacks should lead to greater vigilance towards the behavior of certain groups, including religious ones.

The situation of the countries of Central Europe is a little different since they have a tradition of both religious pluralism and state intervention.

In Germany, where sectarian movements have shown some growth, in particular in the new Lander of the east, a policy of prevention and assistance to former disciples is applied at the local level. In each Land, a position has been created for the head of a mission on sects. At the central level, criteria have been defined that must be met to obtain the status of an established church. There are meetings between Federal officials and representatives of the Lander to exchange information and experience. In spite of all this, interest in the problem remains limited, with civil society very structured and the state religions still strong. So far, no sect has been outlawed. In addition, the possibilities of action by public authorities are restricted, since the Federal constitutional tribunal strictly enforces the principles of state neutrality and religious freedom.

By adopting specific structures, Austria has gone further: at the federal level, a mission for sectarian questions has been established, whose role is to inform the public through brochures or studies. A law on religious communities allows new religious movements to acquire the status of legal entities, with the concomitant advantages (in particular fiscal), after a period of probation, and this is both an encouragement and a means of control. The ministries of the Interior and of Education play a preventive role. Several Lander have set up structures to inform the public of sectarian risks. In Switzerland, the absence of policies and structures at the Federal level is accompanied by some awareness at the canton level, and the establishment of mechanisms independent of the public authorities.

In this context, our approach to the sectarian phenomenon sometimes surprises others, while also interesting them. There are many indications that the French system inspires curiosity and that exchanges with France on approaches that seem to work are desired, even by countries whose conception is very far from our own (such as Great Britain). The missions of MIVILUDES representatives abroad are greeted with great interest. It is important to respond to these expectations, not in order to spread our institutional system and practices (which might be taken to an illegitimate extreme in other contexts) but to correct clichés, and, abstracting away from legitimate differences in conception, to benefit from the advantages of a comparative approach.

MINISTRY OF DEFENSE

The mission of vigilance

Particular attention is paid to the protection of minors and to communities that have adopted an autarchical life style.

This preventive mechanism relies on correspondents, at the regional and departmental level, created in 2004 and charged, for example, with representing the gendarmerie in the departmental cells of vigilance, coordinating the action of the units, and facilitating relations with all government and territorial services.

In the area of education, actions to promote awareness of the notion of sectarian aberration and the role of institutions are carried out with the military, both in the initial training stage and in later training.

The mission of combat

On the initiative of the legal authorities, or when a complaint is lodged, the units of the gendarmerie carry out investigations relating to violations of the law and regulations, or disturbances to public order.

1- Observed aberrations and potential risks

The affairs reported to units of the gendarmerie in 2004 essentially concern harm to property (fraud) and persons (breach of trust, fraudulent abuse of a state of weakness).

As in 2003, the creation of a large number of associations was noted, whose declared purpose was personal development, the pursuit of well-being, harmony with the elements, relaxation, and which propose non-conventional or unproven practices. Certain signs (the professional references listed by the directors, financial demands that are often exorbitant) are reasons for continued vigilance.

The activities of movements exhibiting sectarian aberrations are still essentially in the area of pseudo-therapies, most often targeting fragile individuals, ill or in distress, or health professionals.

In the area of alternative medicine, while the line between tolerable or inoffensive methods and harmful practices is difficult to define, certain practices draw attention. A few situations are worth mentioning.

In Val d'Oise, a pseudo-religious movement claims that "evil, hence sickness, is only an illusion", that "sickness and death could not have been created by God, thus they do not exist". "One must flee doctors with horror". A refusal to be hospitalized was reported, motivated by respect for the teachings of this movement.

Certain associations targeting drug and alcohol dependent persons and proposing treatments based on hallucinogic plants require attention, especially those who claim, for example, to cure dependence on heroin in a single night.

Other movements continue to claim that the Aids virus is still not determined and because of this reject existing therapies, instead offering patients treatments that are not in conformity with the scientific data.

Certain associations whose therapists are forbidden to practice and to conduct training sessions, continue their proselytizing on the Internet and now exercise their activities in Switzerland, Belgium, and overseas.

Lastly, parents have denounced certain methods and pseudotherapies targeting gifted or handicapped children.

In the area of child education

Certain units had their attention drawn to the situation of children receiving schooling in a community, and where the educational conditions may be compromised due to the engagement of the parents.

In two communities it was reported that minors had run away, or young people having reached the majority had left, because they would no longer accept harsh or intolerant schooling.

In the area of individual or professional education

Numerous centers, located especially in southern France, proposing courses of personal development or resourcing, or "qualifying" training in general psychology or assistance, have drawn questions both from elected officials and the rest of the population.

Consultation of the Internet sites of these associations reveals that they target fragile individuals above all ("those who are suffering or who have undergone psychotherapy are welcome") or health professionals, and although they claim to be non-profit associations, the financial demands are often exorbitant.

Other areas

Lastly, movements proselytizing on the Internet and trying to become implanted in France, such as an association which advocates the progressive elimination of the human race and bases its action on four principles — "suicide, abortion, cannibalism, and sodomy", or a racist movement whose goals are to "redress the thinking of the brothers and sisters of race and build as quickly as possible a whiter and brighter world" are a good indication of the diversity of the aberrations which public authorities may have to deal with.

2- The main legal matters handled by gendarmerie units

The main investigations, undertaken on the initiative of the legal authority, or because of a complaint, concerned the infractions of:

abuse of weakness, abuse of confidence;

fraud, clandestine employment;

illegal practice of pharmacy, or medicine, usurpation of title;

habitual violence on a minor of or under 15 years of age by a person in authority (educational system based on corporal punishment and isolation in total darkness);

homicide;

death threats;

profanation and degradation of religious sites.

The investigations carried out by gendarmerie units for acts of profanation or degradation of religious sites have led to the arrest of about fifty individuals.

3- The situation overseas

In French Polynesia, disciples of a community of the apocalyptic type, of whom some were forced to leave their family and job, give their possessions to the movement, sell their land, contract bank loans, or turn over their bank cards or family allocations and work exclusively for the community, reported their precarious situation and the fraud perpetrated on them to the authorities.

In Martinique, the head and founder of a pseudo-evangelical movement was indicted for the rape of minors and fraud.

In Guyana, an adolescent died as the result of corporal violence inflicted during sessions of exorcism.

MINISTRY OF THE INTERIOR, INTERNAL SECURITY AND LOCAL LIBERTIES

The Ministry of the Interior, Internal Security, and Local Liberties is engaged in a task of analysis and combat against sectarian aberrations which takes into account:

the evolution of the sectarian phenomenon, both with respect to the of social and economic sectors involved, and the ways the movements are structured and operate;

the difficulty of gathering the evidence that would prove the existence of a sectarian aberration;

the disparity in the size and the activity of sectarian movements according to the regions involved.

While the attention of public opinion is drawn to the action of certain movements which the media regularly characterize as sects and which interest them because of the large number of disciples or the membership of celebrities, attempts at proselytizing and abuse of credulity are also, and in fact mainly, the work of small structures acting in a more diffuse way, and thus less visible. This is especially the case in the area of professional training where pseudo-courses in personal development are organized.

The central service of the Renseignements Généraux (DCRG) exercises particular vigilance towards actions that target minors or fragile adults.

The development of the phenomenon of "indigo children" illustrates the danger, persistent and multiform, posed for minors by sectarian aberrations. "Indigo children" and the method called "facilitated communication" head the list of the deviant therapies most often cited. Many self-proclaimed psychotherapists have exploited this lucrative lode of children who are hyperactive because they are of cosmic origin", or the above-mentioned method which is supposed to allow the handicapped to express themselves by striking a keyboard, even if they are illiterate. The exploitation of "facilitated communication" is welcomed by the "New Age" nebula.

The indictment should also be mentioned, for "abuse of weakness on minors, denial of health care, moral violence and non-presentation of children", in April 2004, in the department of the Ardennes, of three Child Social Aid educators, disciples of a movement denounced for its sectarian aberrations.

Minors can also be used to ensnare parents who are seduced by offers to help children catch up in school, private lessons, etc. In addition, certain therapeutic and psychotherapeutic methods can also be vectors of sectarian aberrations, by attracting many of the ill, the psychologically fragile, and health personnel.

Thus, in July, the Court of Appeals of Chambery sentenced a former doctor who was head of a movement offering non-tested methods for curing cancer to a three-year prison term for "illegal practice of medicine" and "complicity of fraud".

The protection of children and surveillance of therapeutic and psychotherapeutic deviations are the two priorities defined by the DCRG for their work in 2005.

2005 will also be marked by a reorganization of the decentralized administrative mechanism set up in the departments of France for combating sectarian aberrations. At present this is based on "cells of vigilance", created by a circular of the Ministry of the Interior dated December 20,1999. These cells, headed by the department prefect, convene the relevant government services, with the object of developing the exchange of information and coordinating the actions of the state services for the prevention and combat against sectarian aberrations.

As part of the program of "simplification of decentralized administrative commissions", the Minister of the Interior, Internal Security, and Local Liberties, proposes integration of "the cells of vigilance" with the "departmental council of prevention of delinquency, combat against drugs, and aid to victims".

The composition, organization and functioning of this instance will be defined by a decree, currently under development, with the deadline for application fixed as June 30,2005.

The local mechanism for prevention and combat against sectarian aberrations will thus be strengthened:

its creation will be formalized by a regulatory text, and not just a circular;

the composition of the Council, which will not be limited to national services but broadened to include members of territorial units and associations, will increase the exchange of information and facilitate detection of cases of sectarian aberration.

MINISTRY OF ECONOMY, FINANCE AND INDUSTRY

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