In a memorandum containing her observations on the events linked to the so-called yellow vest movement, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatović, invites the French authorities to show more respect for human rights during operations aimed at maintaining public order and refrain from introducing excessive restrictions to freedom of peaceful assembly through the bill on strengthening and guaranteeing public order at demonstrations.
While strongly condemning the racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic comments and assaults by some demonstrators, the Commissioner points out that the main task of law enforcement officers is “to protect citizens and their human rights”. However, she considers that the number and seriousness of the injuries inflicted on demonstrators “raise questions about the compatibility of the methods used in operations aimed at maintaining public order with due regard for these rights”.
The Commissioner encourages the authorities to publish more detailed figures on the wounded and to review the doctrine on the use of intermediate weapons as soon as possible. Pending this review, the authorities “should suspend the use of LBDs [rubber bullet launchers] during operations aimed at maintaining public order”, she said, while also emphasising the duty of the authorities to guarantee the safety of journalists.
