“What authority will investigate this alert? » With a touch of bitter irony, Denis Zmirou-Navier concludes the letter he sent on Monday, November 4, to several associations that defend the environment and public health. The president of the National Commission for Ethics and Alert in Public Health and the Environment (CNDASPE), theoretically responsible for investigating complaints of irregularities, He himself raises the alarm about the situation of the institution that he has presided over for eight years. This public health professor believes that the CNDASPE – known for its freedom of tone and action – has “lost its independence”having been their missions “unilaterally cut” by its control authority, the Ministry of Ecological Transition.
What is at stake is the commission’s ability to collect confidential information and ensure the anonymity of whistleblowers. According to Mr. Zmirou-Navier, “The CNDASPE can no longer receive referrals or complaints through its online platform”deactivated in summer 2024 by administration. “After several messages of protest, I formally announced during our plenary meeting on October 17 that if we do not reactivate our online declaration tool and modify the inappropriately altered pages before the end of October, I would launch a public alert”explains.
For administration, taking the reporting platform offline is necessary because “The recent European reform and the so-called Waserman law” of 2022 on whistleblowers, whose application decree lists the authorities authorized to process alerts. “Since thenWe explain to the Ministry of Ecological Transition, The CNDASPE is no longer one of the authorities authorized to receive complaints from whistleblowers. » The ministry thus confirms that the alert collection system has “It was actually replaced by links to the relevant authorities, after multiple discussions on the topic.”
“An attack on freedom of expression”
For the ministry, this new operation allows “a referral as soon as possible”near “the proper authority”. For environmental issues, it is the General Inspection of the Environment and Sustainable Development (IGEDD). For public health issues, it may be the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES), the High Health Authority (HAS) or even the Council of the Order of Physicians, etc.
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