Human Rights Watch: France’s Anti-Terror Measures Violate Rights, Alienate Muslims

The organization’s executive director, Kenneth Roth, said in an interview with AFP that the organization’s members are very "concerned about the way the French government has responded to the terrorist threat". They denounce acts of violence, and the mistake the French government is making, which tends to equate Islam in general with the terrorist threat. "If the government demonizes any believer and equates belief with violence, it will alienate people from the state and push religion into clandestinity, which is ultimately very dangerous," he warned.

The NGO also warned about police violence in France, which has become frequent and directed against a certain category of people. It mentions in its report "discriminatory identity checks carried out by the police" that have continued, "including during the application of Covid-19 lockdown measures". Human Rights Watch "has highlighted the fact that the police have targeted young people from minorities, including children as young as 12, for identity checks that often involve intrusive and humiliating body searches as well as the search of personal effects," reports saphirnews.com

According to figures from the National Consultative Commission on Human Rights (CNCDH) relayed by HRW, racist acts have increased by nearly 57% compared to 2018, anti-Semitic acts by 27%, anti-Muslim acts by 54% and "other racist acts" by 131%. Even though France has declared that respect for human rights and international humanitarian law are essential priorities of its diplomacy, its record is "mixed" according to HRW. It "continued to sell arms to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates despite the risk that they would be used against civilians in Yemen" and has "continued its unconditional military and strategic support for the government of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, despite the disastrous human rights record of the latter".

But not everything is black in the assessment presented by France. The HRW organization points out that the government has defended the International Criminal Court (ICC) against attacks from the US administration. It has distinguished itself positively in the UN Security Council to ensure that humanitarian aid is delivered to Syria. France has also helped investigate "chemical attacks carried out by the Syrian government forces," the same source indicates.