In her report, Claire Hédon also deplores “the gradual erosion of our freedoms and the cohesion of society” during the health crisis.
From limited access to leisure activities to the suspension of unvaccinated agents, many referrals to the Defender of Rights have been linked to the health crisis, notes Tuesday the 2021 report of this independent authority marked by an unprecedented level of complaints since its creation. ten years ago. In a decade, it has received around a million complaints, including almost 115,000 in 2021 alone, an increase of 18.6% compared to 2020 and a “level never reached before“.
Complaints handled in 2021 by the authority, which today has more than 870 reception points in France and abroad, mainly concerned protection and social security (22.1% of complaints handled), foreigners law (17.1%) and traffic law (11.6%). The effects of the Covid have motivated many requests, underlines the activity report. Throughout the year, “while recognizing the importance of vaccination in the fight against the pandemic», the Defender of Rights Claire Hédon «deplored the gradual erosion of our freedoms and the cohesion of society” whereas “social inequalities and precariousness have only worsened“.
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She reports in particular having receiveddozens of complaints» agents suspended by health establishments for non-compliance with the vaccination obligation even though they were on sick leave. “Discrimination based on health status“, according to the institution. The Defender of Rights also says that it was seized “several difficulties related to the implementation of the vaccination pass by the health insurance», «highly detrimental to users“.
In an interview at Parisian Tuesday, Claire Hédon also believes that “making the vaccination pass compulsory for young people and children is problematic“. “You can’t stay in a state of emergency forever. […] It is essential to have a real democratic debate, with an examination in Parliament which takes the necessary time“, she also says. A new health emergency bill against the Covid must be examined from next Monday in the National Assembly, but it does not plan to extend beyond July 31 the possibility of restoring the state of health emergency .
Dematerialization of public services at risk
In addition, the 231 agents of the Defender of Rights noted, through the investigation of referrals, “the persistent and particularly worrying effects on children of a long-lasting health crisis“. The difficulties related in particular to the wearing of a mask at school, the lack of educational continuity in the event of eviction due to a contact case, or even the limitation of the right of access to leisure activities (sport, music). Part of the authority’s annual report is dedicated to the mental health of children and to the Defender of Rights’ appeals to the authorities on the imperative of “increased alertness“.
The Defender of Rights can receive complaints relating to five main themes (the rights of the child, whistleblowers, the fight against discrimination, respect for ethics by the security forces and relations with public services ). It is this last area of competence that largely occupies him, since it represents 80% of the complaints received in 2021. The first part of his 2021 report is precisely devoted to public services. Referring to the conclusions of her specific report on the subject published last February, the Defender of Rights points out the difficulties posed by the dematerialization of public services. “Risks that concern everyonenotes the report, including young people.
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Whether “dematerialization is an opportunity“, Pointed Claire Hédon Tuesday on France Inter, it is necessary in parallel”maintain physical reception“, she estimated. “We must put people back in the house France“, she hammered, judging the France Services spaces “not enough“. “Users are asked to adapt to the public service when it should be the opposite. It creates mistrust“, she judged, also demanding the return of counters in SNCF stations.
Furthermore, at Parisian Claire Hédon develops a whole series of proposals on other subjects, taken from her activity report: quantification of facies checks, creation of a discrimination observatory, elimination of defensive ball launchers (LBD) in the maintenance of order, or even the repatriation of French children from Syria and their mothers.