UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet asserts 'forced vaccination is not acceptable'

In a video address to a Human Rights Council seminar on December 8, UN's human rights commissioner Michelle Bachelet stressed that forced vaccination is not acceptable. She added that countries adopting vaccine mandates in the fight against  COVID-19 must guarantee that human rights are respected.

According to a transcript issued by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Bachelet stated, "Vaccine mandates must comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination. In no circumstances should people be forcibly administered a vaccine."

Moreover, she further added that COVID-19 vaccination access has been startlingly unequal over the world. In low-income nations, only 8% of adults had received the first dose of vaccine by December 1, compared to 65% in high-income countries. She stated that none of us will be safe until we are all safe. Currently, the pandemic is being prolonged due to a lack of universal and equitable vaccination availability and distribution, she noted adding that his pandemic is a huge worldwide problem that necessitates a coordinated international response.

Any requirement must ensure that vaccines are actually available & affordable

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights stated that the goals pursued by governments considering mandates to preserve lives as Europe and other regions grapple with pandemic surges were of course of the greatest order of legitimacy and importance. However, she further added that vaccine mandates should be used only when it's necessary to achieve compelling public health goals. She also emphasised that any requirement must ensure that vaccines are actually available and affordable in order for them to be accepted.

She stated, "unless all people have genuine, practical access to vaccines, vaccine requirements will not be consistent with fundamental human rights principles of equality and non-discrimination. This pandemic is far from over. Already, it has damaged the lives and human rights of billions of people. We will not stem that damage, and we will not recover from it, until vaccines and treatments are available for all, in every country, without any form of discrimination."

According to her, this is certainly a human rights commitment that every government must fulfil. She concluded by saying that the previous two years have demonstrated the unfathomable consequences of vast inequities and gaps in human rights.

Image: AP