Claire Hédon

Claire Hédon
Defender of Rights
Incumbent
Assumed office 22 July 2020
President	Emmanuel Macron
Preceded by	Jacques Toubon
Personal details
Born	(1962-10-05) 5 October 1962 (age 62) Paris, France
Alma mater	Panthéon-Assas University CELSA Paris
Profession	Journalist

Claire Hédon (born 5 October 1962) is a French journalist, who was appointed the 2020 Defender of Rights in France.

Early life

Claire Hédon was born on 5 October 1962 in Paris. She is the holder of a master's degree in law from Panthéon-Assas University. She also holds a master's degree in communication from CELSA Paris.[1]

Career

Hedon was appointed member of the Comité consultatif national d'éthique in 2017.[2]

She became Defender of Rights in 2020. Socialist MP George Pau-Langevin was appointed her deputy.[3]

Hédon returned to her positions on 16 February 2021 demanding better traceability to fight against discrimination.[4]

Positions

From the beginning of her tenure as Defender, Claire Hédon publicly opposed certain provisions of the proposed law on global security.[5][6] On 6 July 2022 the Defender of Rights, during a hearing at the Senate, raised concerns about the increase in complaints from users related to the digitization of public services. This would cause a growing distance between citizens and institutions, particularly affecting the most vulnerable citizens.[7]

Facial recognition

In October 2022, the Defender of Rights expressed her concerns regarding the development of biometric technologies such as facial recognition and called for swift legislation on the issue to protect the fundamental rights of citizens.[8]

Child welfare

In November 2022, she took it upon herself to address the situation faced by child welfare services in the Nord and Somme regions. She declared it a "dramatic situation" that compelled her to take action.[9]

Immigration

In February 2023, she criticized the immigration bill proposed by the Borne government, stating that it would "significantly undermine the fundamental rights and freedoms of foreigners." However, according to Claire Hédon, "in reality, the potential sentences are much higher than the actual sentences handed down, which means that the removal of protections against deportation will affect a wide range of individuals for whom the severity of the threat to public order will be far from established."[10][11]

Police brutality

Claire Hédon spoke out in the context of pension reform and police violence, which she had witnessed. She denounced "unacceptable" and "extremely shocking" images.[12] In 2020, she had already criticized the IGPN (General Inspectorate of the National Police) by asserting that the requests for judicial proceedings made by the Defender of Rights were never followed up by the police institution.[13]

References

1. "Claire Hédon : "Nous n'avons pas tout essayé contre le chômage"". lanouvellerepublique.fr. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
2. "Les membres | Comité Consultatif National d'Ethique". www.ccne-ethique.fr. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2021-05-05.
3. "La députée socialiste George Pau-Langevin nommée adjointe auprès de la Défenseure des droits". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2020-11-13. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
4. ""Je n'ai jamais souhaité mettre fin aux contrôles d'identité", assure la Défenseure des droits" (in French). Europe 1. Retrieved 2021-04-05.
5. "Claire Hédon veut le retrait de la mesure sur les vidéos de policiers". www.20minutes.fr (in French). 2020-11-20. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
6. "Proposition de loi "sécurité globale" : "Il est inacceptable de limiter le contrôle" de l'action des forces de l'ordre, estime la Défenseure des droits". Franceinfo (in French). 2020-11-17. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
7. Sénat, Public (2022-07-06). "La Défenseure des droits constate une hausse des réclamations des usagers liée à la dématérialisation des services publics". Public Sénat (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26.
8. ActeursPublics. "Claire Hédon : "L'expérimentation des technologies biométriques ne peut se faire au détriment des droits fondamentaux" | À la une | Acteurs Publics". Claire Hédon : "L’expérimentation des technologies biométriques ne peut se faire au détriment des droits fondamentaux" | À la une | Acteurs Publics (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26.
9. à 08h34, Par Le Parisien avec AFP Le 15 novembre 2022 (2022-11-15). "Aide sociale à l'enfance dans le Nord et la Somme : la Défenseure des droits se saisit d'office". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26.
10. "Projet de loi immigration : la Défenseuse des droits fait part de ses préoccupations". Libération (in French). Retrieved 2023-06-26.
11. "Avis critique de la Défenseure des droits sur le projet de loi immigration". Le Monde.fr (in French). 2023-02-23. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
12. "Les infos de 12h30 – Violences policières : la défenseure des droits Claire Hédon dénonce l'"inadmissible"". www.rtl.fr (in French). 2023-04-17. Retrieved 2023-06-26.
13. "Violences policières : « Nos demandes de poursuites ne sont jamais suivies », dénonce la Défenseure des droits". La Croix (in French). 2020-12-04. ISSN 0242-6056. Retrieved 2023-06-26.