The Interministerial Mission for Vigilance and Action Against Sectarian Aberrations (, MIVILUDES) is a French

government agency A government agency or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government (bureaucracy) that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, s ...

created by

presidential decree A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state, judge, royal figure, or other relevant authorities, according to certain procedures. These procedures are usually defined by the constitution, Legislative laws, or customary l ...

in 2002. It is charged with observing and analyzing the phenomenon of cult movements, coordinating the government response, informing the public about the risks arising from sectarian aberrations, and facilitating the implementation of actions to aid the victims.

Functions

According to the first article of the Decree Number 2002–1392 of 28 November 2002, the MIVILUDES is charged with: # Observing and analyzing the phenomenon of sectarian movements whose practices are prejudicial to

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and basic liberties, constitute a menace to public order, or are in conflict with existing laws and regulations; # Favouring, in the respect of public liberties, the coordination of preventive and repressive action by the authorities against such practices; # Developing the exchange of information between public services on administrative practices relating to the combat against sectarian aberrations; # Contributing to the informing and training of public agents in this area; # Informing the public about the risks and, in some cases, the dangers, arising from sectarian aberrations, and facilitating the implementation of actions to aid the victims of such practices; # Participating in activities relating to issues falling within its scope undertaken at the international level by the ministry of foreign affairs. MIVILUDES provides information related to "

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

ic aberrations" to the media, the French government, and individual members of the public. It recommends contacts and other organizations, and produces and archives documentation and discussion papers on groups considered cults.

History

Background

The French authorities created MIVILUDES as the successor to MILS (''Mission interministérielle de lutte contre les sectes''; English: "Interministerial Mission for Action Against Cults"), which itself functioned from 7 October 1998 as the successor to the ''Observatoire interministériel sur les sectes'' (English: Interministerial Observatory on Cults) established on 9 May 1996. These organizations were in charge of coordinating government monitoring of cults. In February 1998, MILS, headed by Alain Vivien, released its annual report on their monitoring of cults in France. The operations of MILS, and Vivien's background as the head of an anti-cult organization (he had served as President of the Centre Roger Ikor from 1997 to 1998), had occasionally received criticism from several human-rights organizations, such as the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights, as well as the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom, a U.S. government agency. In January 1999, Vivien requested and received police protection following threats and the

burglary Burglary, also called breaking and entering (B&E) or housebreaking, is a property crime involving the illegal entry into a building or other area without permission, typically with the intention of committing a further criminal offence. Usually ...

of his home. Vivien resigned in June 2002 under criticism.

MIVILUDES

The MIVILUDES was created by a decree of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

on 28 November 2002. Jean-Louis Langlais, a senior civil servant at the

Ministry of the Interior An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

, served as its president from 2002 to 2005. Announcing the formation of MIVILUDES, the French government acknowledged the criticism that MILS had received from outside France for certain activities that could be considered in violation of

religious freedom Freedom of religion or religious liberty, also known as freedom of religion or belief (FoRB), is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice ...

. Then this decree repealed the decree of 7 October 1998 establishing MILS. In an interview in March 2003, Langlais categorized the fight as not against "sects" but against "sectarian aberrations". He stated that, since current French law lacks a definition for a "sect", "the law cannot define sectarian aberrations". Nevertheless, he portrayed the role of MIVILUDES as contributing to "defining what could simply be an administrative jurisprudence". A 2004 report by the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom concluded with an assessment that the restructuring of the main French agency concerned with this issue – referring to MILS being replaced by MIVILUDES – had improved religious freedoms in France. The

prefect Prefect (from the Latin ''praefectus'', substantive adjectival form of ''praeficere'': "put in front", meaning in charge) is a magisterial title of varying definition, but essentially refers to the leader of an administrative area. A prefect' ...

Jean-Michel Roulet became president of MIVILUDES in October 2005, followed by the

judge A judge is a person who wiktionary:preside, presides over court proceedings, either alone or as a part of a judicial panel. In an adversarial system, the judge hears all the witnesses and any other Evidence (law), evidence presented by the barris ...

Georges Fenech in October 2008 and the

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

Serge Blisko in August 2012.

Publications

Each year, the MIVILUDES published a report on its activities and a thematic study. Some of them were translated into English:
Annual Report 2003

Annual Report 2004

Annual Report 2007

Annual Report 2008

References

External links

* {{Authority control Government agencies of France 2002 establishments in France Government agencies established in 2002 Government opposition to new religious movements French anti-cult organizations and individuals Freedom of religion Anti-cult organizations Political repression in France Religious policy