Geneva: Countries consider introducing vaccine mandates in the war against Covid-19 must ensure they respect human rights, said the head of the United Nations Rights on Wednesday, stressed that forced vaccination was unacceptable.
Speaking with the seminar on the Human Rights Council through video messages, Michelle Bachelet warns that there are consideration of important rights that need to be taken into account before making mandatory vaccination.
Each “vaccine mandate must adhere to the principles of legality, needs, proportionality and non-discrimination”, he said, according to the transcript.
“In whatever circumstances of people must forcely give a vaccine.” The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said these goals were sought after by countries to reflect on the mandate to protect the life of Europe and other regions fighting with a fierce surge in a pandemic, is “of course the order of legitimacy and the highest interests”.
But he insisted that “the vaccine mandate must only be used if necessary to achieve convincing public health goals”.
“And they just have to be considered when less intrush steps such as masks and social distance have been proven to meet such health needs.” He also stressed that for each mandate to be accepted, countries need to ensure that vaccines are truly available and affordable.
“Unless everyone has the original and practical practical access to the vaccine, vaccine requirements will not be consistent with the principles of fundamental human rights and non-discrimination,” he said.
Bachelet also highlights that “the actual vaccine employed must also be quite safe and effective to achieve (the) public health objectives.” Whatever vaccination regime must also be flexible enough to allow “appropriate exceptions, such as where vaccination is medically shown for someone.” Bachelet said it might deserve to limit some rights and freedom, including access to school conditions, hospitals or other public spaces on vaccination.
But forced injections have never been accepted, he said, “even if someone’s refusal to comply with a mandatory vaccination policy may require other legal consequences, including, for example, appropriate fines”.
“Where penalties are put in place, they must be proportional and can be reviewed by the judicial authority,” he said.
There needs to be “right procedural protection, including the right to seek justified exceptions and the right to appeal all forms of penalty before fair and independent authorities,” insist.
Looking forward to the Head of the UN Rights told each vaccine mandate introduced “must submit to official reviews that often to ensure they are still necessary, proportional and non-discriminatory.”