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Human Rights Group Slams French 'State of Emergency' Constitution Change

© AP Photo / Kamil ZihniogluParis terror attacks
Paris terror attacks - Sputnik International
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The French Government is proposing a change to the country's constitution, following the Charlie Hebdo and November 13 attacks, allowing authorities unprecedented powers to shut down organizations in a move condemned by human rights groups as oppressive.

The French Government is Wednesday considering a change to its constitution, allowing it to declare a state of emergency in the event of an "immediate danger resulting from serious breach of public order" or in the case of "events presenting, by nature and gravity, a characteristic of public calamity."

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The amendment, which if approved as an official government proposal by the French Council of Ministers during discussions on 23 December, would allow the authorities to continue using state of emergency measures for a further six months after the end of the current state of emergency, set to expire on 26 February.

​​However, according to Amnesty International, the proposed change to France's Constitution would put many people at even greater risk of human rights violations by giving the authorities wide powers to close down organizations, conduct unwarranted house raids, shut down mosques and restrict people's freedom of movement.

'Dangerous Step'

Under the present state of emergency, imposed after the November 13 attacks in Paris, in which 130 people were killed and hundreds injured, the French authorities can carry out house searches without a warrant, impose assigned residency, shut down associations, and restrict other human rights including the right of peaceful assembly.

​So far, there have been 2,700 warrant-less house searches, 360 people have been assigned residency (see below), more than 20 mosques and many Muslim associations have been searched, and around ten mosques shut down.

"These emergency measures are already proving to be disproportionate. Extending them outside of a state of emergency is a dangerous step," ​Amnesty International Europe and Central Asia Deputy Director Gauri van Gulik said.

"Using the terrorist threat to change the constitution opens the floodgates for emergency-like measures to become the new norm. Declaring a state of emergency in situations where there is a ‘threat to the life of the nation' such as the Paris attacks is one thing, but entrenching emergency measures to counter more vaguely-defined threats is another. Many people are being targeted solely on the basis of their religious practices or vague suspicions," he said.

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