The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled yesterday that it would be legal to introduce mandatory vaccination. Such a verdict boosts the possibility of compulsory immunisation against the coronavirus in Serbia, an idea confirmed by Health Minister Zlatibor Lončar.
Commenting on the decision of the European Court of Human Rights, Vladica Ilic of the Centre for Human Rights said that the aforementioned institution had ruled that there was no violation of the European Convention on Human Rights if mandatory vaccination is introduced.
“The case was examined from the aspect of the right to respect for private and family life and freedom of thought, conscience and religion. The court ruled that there is no violation of the convention,” he says, adding that the court took into account the fact that vaccines can cause some side effects.
“The court underlined the importance of procedural safeguards: if someone thinks they may be at risk from the vaccine, they should make their complaint through the legal system. The verdict contains an interesting point in which the court states, in a general way, that where the voluntary vaccination policy does not yield adequate results, the state can introduce compulsory vaccination,” Ilic adds.
Asked whether the ruling could be used for as justification for compulsory vaccination against the coronavirus, Sasa Jankovic, a former civil rights advocate, said that that was absolutely possible and added:
“There are other conditions that the vaccine must meet in order to become mandatory, and this is something that should be explained to people. It is much more important that this huge division in people for and against vaccination, stops as soon as possible.”
Epidemiologist Predrag Djurić said that proportionality is important and that attention should be paid to people who should not be vaccinated because of the possibility of contraindications.
“This proportionality implies the responsibility that the state has towards the individual and vice versa. When there are citizens who cannot protect themselves with the vaccine, and who are at risk of contracting serious diseases, the only way to protect them is for others to protect them by boosting their immunity,” he underlined.
(Nova, 09.04.2021)
https://nova.rs/emisije/srbija-ima-pravo-da-uvede-obaveznu-vakcinaciju/
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