PREMIER MINISTRE REPORT TO THE PRIME MINISTER 2008 F Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations MIVILUDES This document is a translation of the French version. Only the original French version is legally binding. Contents Foreword by the Chairman ............................................................................... 5 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 7 Section 1 Sectarian risk ..................................................................................................... 11 Contribution of the general delegation for employment and professional training ..................................................... 13 Contribution by the Ministry of the Interior .................................................... 19 Satanic aberrations hit the headlines in Europe ........................................... 27 The Internet: amplifying the risk of sectarian aberrations ............................. 39 International influential strategies in 2008: examples of action by sectarian movements within the UN.......................... 45 Section 2 Combating sectarian aberrations..........................................................57 Contribution by the Ministry of the Interior ................................................... 59 Assistance provided for the victims of sectarian aberrations in Europe ............................................................... 63 Section 3 Close-up: health risks................................................................................ 105 The misuse of psychotherapeutical practices for sectarian purposes................................................................. 107 Contribution of the Ministry of Health.......................................................... 117 Section 4 Administrative activities in 2008 ......................................................... 121 Ministries in 2008 ....................................................................................... 123 Les goals of the ministries in 2009 ............................................................. 143 Overview of Miviludes - 2008 ..................................................................... 155 Prospects for Miviludes - 2009 ................................................................... 165 Conclusion ........................................................................................................ 171 Report to the Prime Minister ▼ 3 Appendices Law no 2008-1187 of 14 November 2008, relating to the status of witnesses before parliamentary investigatory commissions ............. 175 Circular issued by the Ministry of the Interior, Overseas and territorial authorities, dated 25 February 2008 on the "Combat against sectarian aberrations"................................................. 177 Circular issued by the Ministry of the Interior, Overseas and territorial authorities, dated 23 January 2009 on the "Guidelines by the Ministry of the Interior on the combat against sectarian aberrations in 2009" ...................................... 185 Parliamentary activities .......................................................................... 187 Addresses and useful links .................................................................... 199 4 MIVILUDES ▼ Foreword by the Chairman I would like to start by thanking my predecessor, the Prefect Jean-Michel Roulet, who breathed new life into the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations during his three-year combat. This high ranking civil servant was undoubtedly able to find the right balance between respect for the fundamental freedoms which represent the foundation of the Republic and firmness when faced with behaviour breaching public order and the dignity of human beings. Catherine Katz worked at his side and provided the Mission with her precious experience as a magistrate which she now invests in a new cause, within the Interministerial Mission of Combat against drugs and addiction. Catherine has been replaced with another magistrate, Amélie Cladière, who immediately launched into structural reforms within the Miviludes. This activity report is therefore mainly the result of work by the previous team. This report focuses on new strategies and new risks of sectarian aberrations, particularly in the sectors of health, access to employment and professional training. The report also specifically refers to the decision of the Ministry of Health to create a monitoring tool dedicated to non conventional therapeutical practices, or the target set by the Ministry of Labour to prosecute sectarian movements if breaches of labour law are detected, such as the absence of remuneration or an employment contract, and the repeated intentions of the Ministry of the Interior, clearly stated in its circular of 25 February 2008, to "boost State action against sectarian aberrations". In this line, Miviludes, whose central mission is to coordinate the action of all public authorities, will attempt to ensure a more active presence in the field, in direct contact with the groups concerned and with all public actors or associations involved. In the same way, in view of transparency, Miviludes will report on its activities in all fields publically in the form of a bimonthly newsletter. The report also details the partnership agreement signed between Miviludes and the parliamentary-National Assembly channel to better inform our fellow citizens of the dangers and risks of sectarian aberrations detected in certain movements. Report to the Prime Minister ▼ 5 Once again, as was the case last year, this report focuses on the international nature of the sectarian phenomenon. At the invitation of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, of the OSCE, Miviludes travelled to Warsaw on 8 October 2008 to emphasise, in direct relation with the services of the Quai d’Orsay, the democratic and balanced nature of its initiatives and its respect for civil liberties and person freedoms. In view of optimising its goals, Miviludes has launched a restructuring program for its entities (General secretariat, Executive Operational Control Committee and Orientation Council) in view of becoming more effective and more operational. The Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations will therefore continue to reveal the commercial aims and psycho-spiritual techniques applied in the form of misleading appearances and used to achieve mental manipulation and other dangerous practices for individuals and fundamental freedoms with the same determination as in the past. The protection of the key interests which represent the very foundation of a democracy depend on this process. 6 MIVILUDES ▼ Introduction According to the many requests sent to the Documentation française, and the growing number of visitors to the web site of the Miviludes, the report issued by the Chairman of Miviludes to the Prime Minister is met with ever greater interest each year. In the last six years, this annual report has gained ground and extended its horizons, providing ever more complete and in-depth information on the sectarian phenomenon, and targeting an ever wider audience. The letters received by the Miviludes clearly demonstrate the wide and diversified audience reached and affected by the annual report, via various channels. This constant requirement for quality is a permanent challenge for member of personnel working for the Interministerial Mission or the services of the Ministries concerned, who all contribute to this report. This was particularly the case in 2008, a transition year for the Interministerial Mission of Vigilance and Combat against Sectarian Aberrations. A transition period due to the departure of Jean-Michel Roulet and the appointment of Georges Fenech as Chairman of Miviludes, due to the renewal of a significant proportion of the standing General secretariat, but also due to substantial modifications to work in the field, which led Miviludes to change its procedures when collaborating with public authorities, for which it is responsible for "encouraging the coordination of preventive and repressive action" (article 1 of the decree of 28 November 2002 founding the Miviludes) against dangerous or reprehensible behaviour in the form of sectarian aberrations. The removal of the departmental "Cells of vigilance" whose competences have been transferred to the "departmental councils for the prevention of delinquency, aid for victims and the combat against drugs, sectarian aberrations and gender violence" subsequent to the simplification of administrative procedures applied in 2007 must, according to the circular of 27 May 2005 from the Prime Minister on the combat against sectarian aberrations, be completed by the creation, within these departmental councils, of working groups specifically responsible for monitoring issues relating to the combat against sectarian aberrations. In the circular of 25 February 2008, the Minister of the Interior strongly requested that Prefects "boost the State's action in the combat against sectarian aberrations" and organise a meeting of these working groups once each quarter for this purpose to "centralise and compare information on any sectarian aberrations". Report to the Prime Minister ▼ Introduction 7 During the preparation and holding of these meetings, decentralised services became fully aware of the need to reinforce available information in the field