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A Complaint has been sent by FOREF (Forum for Religious Freedom - Europe), an International NGO based in Austria, against French MP Rudy Salles who is Rapporteur on a motion "The protection of minors against excesses of sects " at the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). The complaint has been sent to Secretary General of the PACE Wojciech Sawicki, as well as to the Chairman and members of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the PACE. Here is the full text of it, as well as the complaint itself that you can download:


Religious Freedom - Complaint against French MP Rudy Salles - Rapporteur at the PACE
 
Mr Wojciech Sawicki
Secretary General
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Palais de l’Europe
Avenue de l’Europe
67075 Strasbourg
 
Vienna, the 7st November 2013
 
 
 
 
Dear Sir,
 
I would like to draw your attention to the following facts, regarding a report under preparation in the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, “The Protection of Minors Against Sectarian Influence”, and his rapporteur Mr Rudy Salles. It appears to me that these facts are serious enough to bring to your attention and that  of the members of the Committee.
 
The code of conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly (resolution 1799), rules that rapporteurs should respect (1.1) a principle of neutrality, impartiality and objectivity, including in particular:
 
1.1.1. undertaking not to have any economic, commercial, financial or other interests, on a professional, personal or family level, connected with the subject of the report, and obligation to declare any relevant interests;
 
1.1.2. undertaking not to seek or accept instructions from any government or governmental or non-governmental organisation, or pressure group or individual;
 
1.1.3. undertaking not to accept any reward, honorary distinction, decoration, favour, substantial gift or remuneration from a government or governmental or non-governmental organisation, a pressure group or an individual in connection with activities carried out in the exercise of their duties;
 
1.1.4. undertaking to refrain from any act which may cast doubt on their neutrality;
 
The following information indicates that Mr. Rudy Salles has breached articles 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.4 in the course of his duties as rapporteur for the report on “protection of minors against sectarian influence”. It shows that he has not only been strongly influenced by both a government department and NGOs anti-pathetic towards religions (and in particular minority religions) but that he has himself been a long-term supporter of such a position. This political and personal interest he did not declare, as he should have, according to the established code of a rapporteur.
 
Mr Salles was appointed as rapporteur to draft a report on “protection of minors against sectarian influence” on 7th September 2011.
 
This issue has been strongly lobbied for by French “anti-cult” groups for many years. It is also a position that has been strongly criticized internationally by both governments and human rights organisations. Mr. Salles is a long-time associate of Mr. Georges Fenech, member of the French National Assembly and former head of the Miviludes, a French government agency in charge of fighting against what they term “sects”. When his appointment to the position of rapporteur occurred, Mr. Salles made a joint statement with Mr. Fenech in a French newspaper (Nice Matin, November 22, 2011), announcing the appointment and claiming that the purpose of that nomination was to create a European observatory on “sects”, a sort of European Miviludes.
 
In the article Mr. Salles and Mr. Fenech made it very clear that they considered the nomination was the result of a joint action between Miviludes and Rudy Salles to export the French government model to European level via the PACE.
 
Here are some excerpts of their statements as reported in the newspaper:
 
Mr. Salles: “This nomination is a first victory. We will not work as in the French parliament, where the engagement is very strong and reports regarding “sects” are voted unanimously. There, for the Council of Europe, it is a question of degree of appreciation of sects in the various countries. Some of them assimilate sects as religions. So our work will be more difficult, but to register this topic at the Council of Europe is already a lot, and the fact the rapporteur is French is a good thing, also because the French National Assembly, after several commissions since 1995, is at the forefront of this issue.”
 
Mr. Fenech: “I expect a lot from the report that Rudy Salles will produce in one or two years. With that, we have re-launched a European process which had disappeared for 10 years.” He also stated in the article that one of the purposes of the report would be: “the creation of a European Observatory on sects”.
 
This shows that right from the beginning, Mr. Salles was in agreement with and was following a political and social agenda worked out in cooperation with the French Miviludes. It also shows that the result of the report was already predetermined by the rapporteur before any actual information collection and observation was done.
 
In his book “Apocalypse imminente”, published in September 2012, Mr. Fenech, President of the Miviludes at that time, wrote: At first I went to the European Fundamental Rights Agency based in Vienna (Austria) to suggest at least, a European programme of studies on cults and minors, in order to not upset anyone. The welcome was polite, but no action has ever followed my initiative. Undoubtedly, the eternal strife within the Member States on the definition of “sect” was an insurmountable obstacle. So I had to change my tactics and act directly to the Council of Europe, the antechamber of the European Parliament (sic), in the very heart of Strasbourg institutions. To this end, I invited to Paris the president of the Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Mr Pourgourides, a Cypriot who promised to engage firmly in that direction. He kept his promise by getting a draft resolution voted upon, whose report was entrusted to a French parliamentarian, Rudy Salles, a pioneer of the anti-cult fight in France. During my meeting with him in Nice, I had no trouble in convincing him to work on this as an emergency.”
 
The above clearly shows violations of articles 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.4 of the rules, as Mr. Salles clearly had prior interests on a professional and personal level as well as accepting  instructions from and/or working in collusion with the President of the Miviludes.
 
This was later confirmed by Herve Machi, Secretary General of the Miviludes, when he was interviewed by a French Senate Enquiry Commission on “health and sectarian movements”. In this hearing (http://videos.senat.fr/video/videos/2012/video14790.html, 78th minute), Mr. Machi talked of “European harmonization”: “we are trying to instigate such harmonization. We started to do it, not via the issue of “health”, but via the issue of “minors”, by instigating a resolution of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe which has been adopted … It is a French Member of Parliament, Mr Rudy Salles, who is working on the question of the influence of sectarian movements with minors, in order to bring about the creation of a European observatory on sectarian deviances and minors. For us, it was a way to interest our European partners in the issue by reaching them via this common denominator, that of protection of minors. Maybe it will be the beginning of a “ball of wool” which will lead our partners to interest themselves with sectarian deviances, also in the field of health.”
 
This clearly demonstrates that Miviludes used Mr Salles as a Trojan horse, following Miviludes’ plan to get the Council of Europe to adopt French policy on religious minorities. According to Mr. Machi, it was the Miviludes that “instigated” the resolution of Mr. Pourgourides, and the actions of Mr Salles are clearly viewed as those of the French Miviludes.
 
That Miviludes was behind this initiative is also confirmed in the Miviludes’ Newsletter of January 2011, written before the resolution on “the protection of minors against sectarian influence” was adopted, where it is written:
“In the frame of the promotion of a European programme on sectarian deviances and minors, Mr Georges Fenech met in December with Mr Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the French Delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, as well as Mr Christos Pourgourides, President of the Committee of Legal Affairs and Human Rights of the Council of Europe. These interviews were very fruitful should lead to new initiatives”.
 
In fact, this is not a new plan for Miviludes. Mr. Fenech, at a symposium organized in Lyon (France) the 26 November 2009, stated: “There is still one goal not yet reached to which I attach great importance, it is the implementation of a European programme on sectarian deviances which could be located in the Fundamental Rights Agency based in Vienna, which Miviludes has met in July 2009.”
 
Prior to that, Miviludes had already spoken about their plan to create a European “observatory on sects”, by using the topics of “sects and minors” in order to get agreement from other countries to follow the Miviludes plan. In 2008, at a FECRIS (European “anti-sect” umbrella association, which in should be noted, receives the majority of its funds from the French government) conference at Pisa, Italy, Catherine Katz, at the time Secretary General of Miviludes, explained: For many years, the MILS (ancestor of the Miviludes), then the MIVILUDES really wanted to show other European States in particular, that they were not, what the cultic movements and their friends affirmed, attacking freedom of conscience and beliefs.”(…) “Now, it is useful to explain France’s position, it is also good to inform about the position of FECRIS, it is positive to communicate on the legitimacy of our actions, but can we go further? Can one imagine a common model in Europe and a minimum point of convergence? I tend to think that this could be realised only through technical actions and aspects, like problems of minors for example. Once again I am personally attached to the protection of the weakest and the protection of minors is a subject common to all and which could be a point of entrance. Which country can accept that its minors be crushed, destroyed, violated, misused? Another possible entrance point is health. An evaluation of deviating methods, be they cultic or not, can make it possible to find common ground. Why not a European observatory in the field of sectarian aberrations?”
 
Mr Rudy Salles, described by former President of Miviludes Mr. Fenech as “a pioneer of the anti-cult fight in France”, is anything but the neutral or impartial rapporteur needed for conducting such a report in the PACE – if indeed this has any place at all considering its origins. On the 22nd June 2000, before the French National Assembly, Mr. Salles went as far as stating: “Unfortunately, there cannot be a ’big night’ of sects that would allow us to settle this once and for all”. In France, the expression “big night” (grand soir), is a revolutionary expression alluding to the overthrow of a government, usually by the use of force and violence. In the sentence quoted above, Mr. Salles expressed his regret that he could not get rid of “sects” overnight.
 
I am providing this information to you, showing clearly that Mr. Rudy Salles is neither neutral, nor impartial and has significantly breached the rules 1.1.1, 1.1.2 and 1.1.4 of the code of conduct for rapporteurs of the Parliamentary Assembly.
 
According to Article 3 of the Code, the penalty for breaching the rules, “should a rapporteur fail to honour one or more undertakings”, can be the withdrawal of his or her mandate.
 
I respectfully ask you to review this information and conduct an impartial investigation into this matter in order to consider withdrawing Mr. Rudy Salles’ mandate on this topic.
 
Kind regards,
 
 

 
Peter Zoehrer
FOREF  Europe
 
 
 
Copy:
• Mr Christopher Chope, Chairman of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
• Mr Jean-Claude Mignon, President of the PACE
• Mr Rudy Salles, Rapporteur
• Members of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights
 
Attachments:
• Pages 234 and 235 of the book “Apocalypse, Menace Imminente” by Georges Fenech
• Nice Matin article November 22, 2011


Rédigé par EIFRF le Sunday, March 9th 2014 | Comments (0)

New Era CC founder Emmaneul Ivorgba receives top honor from the Dalai Lama
URI staff in San Francisco warmly welcomed New Era Educational and Charitable Support Foundation CC founder Dr. Emmanuel Ivorgba to the Bay Area from Jos, Nigeria last week, just before he was set to receive an award from the Dalai Lama.
 
After meeting with the overjoyed, smiling faces of URI, Emmanuel set off to receive the Unsung Heroes of Compassion Award from the His Holiness the Dalai Lama, later speaking at Santa Clara University and at Stanford, where he joined students in a viewing of the award-winning documentary, Project Happiness, in which he is featured.
A passionate youth leader, educator, and peacebuilder, Emmanuel has worked hard to ease tension between Christians and Muslims, Igbo and Hausa, and the rich and the poor in Nigerian communities torn apart by generations of religious and tribal division.
 
As a youth, Emmanuel was accepted into seminary school for his secondary education, originally intending to become a Catholic priest. But his love of learning propelled him into earning university degrees in computer engineering and information technology. Later, he would receive a PhD in Philosophy and Religion.
To all who have had the privilege of working with Emmanuel, his dedication to helping his fellow Nigerians and the world is profound; his vision for a better future boundless and inspiring. Emmanuel also serves as the West Africa Liaison Officer for URI West Africa, and was joined by URI Africa Regional Coordinator Mussie Hailu in San Francisco.
 
The passionate yet humble educator and activist sat down with URI to speak about his vision for his CC, New Era, and for Creative Minds International Academy, a values-based school that he also founded.
 
 
URI: What was it like to receive an award from the Dalai Lama?
 
Emmanuel: Receiving the Unsung Heroes Award from His Holiness the Dalai Lama—it is a feeling that is difficult to express in words. I had the privilege of meeting with His Holiness in 2007. That meeting inspired and challenged me to embark on my current work and to have him honor me seven years after. I am deeply humbled, grateful and inspired all the more. The award for me, therefore, is not a recognition for work done, but an invitation to be a greater service to humanity.

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Rédigé par EIFRF le Friday, March 7th 2014 | Comments (0)

Translation of a swedish article by EIFRF


Attitude of Sweden ”liberal” towards sects
Source in Swedish

In the report, which will be discussed in the plenary meeting of 10 April, one can observe that it is not certain which damage sects commit against children in the 47 countries which participate in the Council of Europe. Neither is there any uniform definition of the concept, for which Rudy Salles prefers to use the expression “excesses of sects” (something like, extravagance of sects). This could mean, according to a French definition, “the use of oppression or techniques with the purpose of, or leading to,the creation of, the maintenance of or abuse of a psychological or physical disadvantage for an individual, to the damage of the individual or the society”.
Sweden has received a particular place in the report, and is classified, side by side with Denmark, as a country which ” has a very liberal attitude towards religious freedom and, consequently, to the phenomenon of sects”.
 
Sweden was one of the two countries which Rudy Salles choose to visit as part of his investigative assignment. He wrote that in December 2012 he met with representatives of the parliament, School Inspection, the Youth Council, the Association Save the Individual (FRI) and the Committee for state support of religions.
“Sweden has really a very liberal attitude towards religious freedom, which occasionally can counteract the protection of children”, noted Rudy Salles.
“ At the end of my visit I concluded that the national education system in Sweden, and particularly the system of financing private schools, just like the registration of associations, contains loopholes which could lead to abuses by sect-like movements”. 
 
Bo Nyberg, chairman of the Christian private school Council (KRF), says that his organization since then has sent written submissions to Rudy Salles with the viewpoint of the Christian leader on the matter.
 
- One can´t call it proper research what he did in Sweden because he only met with persons who acknowledged the picture he already had, says Bo Nyberg to Världen idag.[The world today]
 
The report of Ruddy Salles contains even an account of reposes to a questionnaire which was sent out last Spring to all member states.
 
In the answer which was written up by the Swedish Parliamentary Research Service is the Swedish private school system accounted for, just like the state support to religions. Furthermore is the question answered which deals with the fact whether the Swedish school authorities at any time “have given, or withdrawn, the authorization to a ´new religious movement´ to establish a school”.
 
“ A particular controversial question was raised about the school, run by the ´Plymouth Brothers´in South Sweden”, writes the Parliamentary Research Service.
 
”The School Inspection has reviewed the school many times and criticized the lack of objectivity and completeness; for example through a censorship of internet pages by the Swedish parliament and public service radio. The authorization of the school has nevertheless not been withdrawn”.
 
The Labora school, located in Långaryd and which is not religion-based, was the target of observation by the School Inspection some years ago and is the school as referred to by Sweden in its answer to the Council of Europe. The matter was closed 2012. In connection with the inspections was responsible Roger Niklewsk interviewed by the paper Schoolworld.
 
- There is no school in Sweden which had more visits, he told the paper.
 
- My impression is that the Laboraschool is better than many other schools. The atmosphere is relaxed, the school has no discipline problem and has a high target attainment. The education is objective and comprehensive. The students are study-motivated.

Rédigé par EIFRF le Thursday, March 6th 2014 | Comments (0)

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