In an opinion issued on Tuesday, the Defender of Rights Claire Hédon warns of the risks associated with the extension of the health pass as provided for in the current bill.
The Defender of Rights is an institution independent of the State, responsible in particular for ensuring equal rights for all.
With regard to the health pass precisely, Claire Hédon believes that several points are problematic.
It “questions both the method and the proportionality of most of the provisions and restrictions present in the text”.
Here is what could infringe the rights of the French according to her.
Risks of discrimination
The Defender of Rights points to the risks of discrimination in employment: the dismissal of an employee who does not have the sanitary pass could be a disproportionate measure according to her. In addition, the health pass could create differences between the employees who will present the requested documents, and the others. According to her, the health pass in transport and in certain places of access to goods and services also presents a limitation of the freedom to come and go. It shares the observations of the Council of State on shopping centers, essential for the acquisition of essential goods. Finally, the institution insists on the fact that populations that are currently unvaccinated are also the most precarious, and that the rapid implementation of the health pass could create new inequalities.
Extension of the health pass: the 10 alert points for the Defender of Rights #PassSanitaire ⬇️
- Defender of Rights (@Defenseurdroits) July 20, 2021
"Favorable that, for minors from 12 to 18 years old, vaccination remains only encouraged".
Claire Hédon considers that the bill carries "considerable risks of infringement of children's rights".
The International Convention on the Rights of the Child enshrines the right of access to culture and recreation for minors, which would be limited by the health pass for 12-18 year olds.
The opinion is therefore "in favor of vaccination for minors between 12 and 18 years old only being encouraged and not falling under the scope of a disguised vaccination obligation".
Read also Covid-19 in Ile-de-France: how living standards and education shape the vaccination map
Control of one part of the population by another part of the population
According to the opinion delivered on Tuesday, the health pass would give a "police power" to a part of the population, that which will be responsible for controlling the health pass such as restaurateurs, employees of cinemas, museums ... The Defender would like these controls fall to the public authorities, who are better able to exercise this power.
Among the risks she cites: access to sensitive data, or the risk of discrimination in connection with the state of health.
Another point of concern: the extension of isolation measures. "It is to be feared that these provisions, combined with the possibility of making the tests payable, have the effect of discouraging being tested and of slowing down the policy of massive screening, thus promoting the circulation of the virus" writes the Defender of Rights. The latter also regrets that the legislative text is subject to an accelerated procedure, which limits democratic debate, while this bill would have a real effect on the rights and freedoms of the French. Parliament will be able to judge this week: the bill must be debated in the National Assembly on Wednesday and Thursday, then in the Senate on Friday.
