Michelle Bachelet warned that important rights considerations must be taken into account before making vaccination mandatory.
Mandatory vaccination “must always respect human rights and forcing it is not acceptable,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, on Wednesday.
“Under no circumstances do people have to be forcibly vaccinated, although if a person refuses to comply with the obligation to be vaccinated it can have legal consequences, such as an appropriate fine,” Bachelet said in a video message.
Bachelet warned that important rights considerations must be taken into account before making vaccination mandatory.
“It must comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination,” he explained, according to a transcript of his words during a Human Rights Council seminar.
The High Commissioner said that the objectives pursued by the countries that consider making the vaccine mandatory to fight the pandemic were “of course, of the highest level of legitimacy and importance.”
But he insisted that “mandatory vaccination should only be used when necessary to achieve compelling public health objectives.”
“And only when less intrusive measures, such as wearing a mask and social distancing, fail to meet those public health goals.”
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Bachelet also emphasized that for the obligation to be “in accordance with the fundamental principles of human rights of equality and non-discrimination,” countries have to ensure the supply of vaccines and that they are truly affordable.
As well as that they are “sufficiently safe and effective,” he added.
Bachelet also explained that it might be appropriate to restrict certain rights and freedoms, including access to facilities such as hospitals and schools, to unvaccinated people.
Looking to the future, Bachelet affirmed that all mandatory vaccination “must be subject to frequent official review to ensure that it continues to be necessary, proportional and non-discriminatory.” (I)
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