‘Respect human rights,’ as UN opposes Nigeria on mandatory vaccination

United Nations (UN) has taken a divergent position against Nigeria, and others who have already issued directives for mandatory or compulsory vaccination against Coid-19 by their nationals.

While Nigeria is planning legislation compelling its nationals to vaccinate or risk prosecution, even as a December 1, 2021 deadline for all its employees to vaccinate has elapsed with civil servants reportedly locked out of their offices.

In Ghana, the country has directed its police to begin enforcement of the mandatory vaccination from January, next year.

However, reacting to this development, the United Nations rights chief, Michelle Bachelet, said that countries considering introducing vaccine mandates in the fight against COVID-19 must ensure they respect human rights.

The UN position is also in alignment with the Organised Labour group which had earlier called for caution o the part of the Nigerian government on its proposed mandatory vaccination order on public workers in the country.

Michelle Bachelet on Wednesday was stressing that forced vaccination was never acceptable.

The UN Chief speaking to a Human Rights Council seminar via video message warned that, there were significant rights considerations that needed to be taken into account before making vaccination compulsory.

“Any vaccine mandates must comply with the principles of legality, necessity, proportionality and non-discrimination”, she said, according to a transcript.”

“In no circumstances should people be forcibly administered a vaccine.”

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights said the aims sought by countries mulling mandates to protect lives as Europe and other regions battle fierce surges in the pandemic, were “of course of the highest order of legitimacy and importance”.

But she insisted that “vaccine mandates should be employed only when necessary for achieving compelling public health ends”.

“And they should only be considered when less intrusive measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing have demonstrably failed to meet such health needs.”

She also emphasised that for any mandate to be acceptable, countries needed to ensure that vaccines are truly available and affordable.

“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,” she said.

Bachelet also highlighted that “the actual vaccines employed must also be sufficiently safe and effective to achieve (the) public health aims.”

Any mandatory vaccination regime also must be flexible enough to allow for “appropriate exceptions, such as where a vaccination is medically contraindicated for an individual.”

Bachelet said it could be appropriate to restrict some rights and liberties, including conditioning access to schools, hospitals or other public spaces on vaccination.

But forced injections were never acceptable, she said, “even if a person’s refusal to comply with a mandatory vaccination policy may entail other legal consequences, including, for example, appropriate fines”.

“Where penalties are imposed, they should be proportionate and subject to review by judicial authorities,” she said.

There needed to be “appropriate procedural safeguards, including the right to seek a justified exemption and the right to appeal any form of penalty before a fair and independent authority,” she insisted.

Looking forward, the UN rights chief said any vaccine mandates introduced “should be subject to frequent official review to ensure they remain necessary, proportionate and non-discriminatory.”

It would be recalled that Federal Government through the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman, Presidential Steering Committee (PSC), Mr. Boss Mustapha, had announced during the National Joint Media briefing on COVID-19 in Abuja, October 13, that all public workers under its employment have till December 1, this year to submit themselves to the Covid-19 vaccination programme or risk gaining access to their offices, saying there was no exception to the vaccine.

“With effect from 1st December 2021, Federal Government employees shall be required to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination or present a negative COVID-19 PCR test result done within 72 hours, to gain access to their offices, in all locations within Nigeria and our Missions. An appropriate service-wide advisory/circular will be issued to guide the process,” Mustapha said.

On its motive for directing mandatory vaccination for its workers, as a way to boost acceptance of the programme, the National Primary Health-care Development Agency (NPHCDA) had noted that unvaccinated civil servants portend a high risk to others who have undergone the process of immunizing against the Covid-19.

NPHCDA explained that the government’s COVID-19 advisory for Federal workers to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or show proof of a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior, before they can access their offices by 1st December 2021 seeks to make the workplace safe for everyone.

According to the NPHCDA, the directive will help to get civil servants to get vaccinated and the achievement for herd immunity.

“A lot of Federal Government employees that are not taking the vaccine continue to pose a risk to their colleagues. These are people that need to be sure that they are negative before they can have to access through offices.

“There is a need to emphasise the fact that there is an option for people who do not wish to get vaccinated, therefore people are not being forced to take the vaccine as they have the option of showing a negative COVID-19 test result every 72 hours.

“This policy is in the interest of public safety and to fast track the community’s achievement of herd immunity,” the agency said.

According to the NPHCDA, Federal Government had said the aim of the directive was geared towards achieving 70 per cent herd immunity by the end of 2022.

However, upon announcement of the directive for mandatory vaccination, Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in October cautioned against forcing workers to take the COVID-19 vaccination.

President of the NLC, Mr. Ayuba Wabba who sounded the warning during a briefing on COVID-19 Vaccination Advisory for Federal Civil Servants in Abuja, in October, noted that the government should employ the use of persuasion and conviction rather than force.

“The truth is that despite being imperfect, the COVID-19 vaccine has given all of us a better chance of fighting the virus and staying alive. I urge workers all over the world to take advantage of the COVID-19 vaccines and keep themselves, their families and their colleagues at work safe and free from the morbid threats of the corona pandemic. We urge that the tool of persuasion and conviction be used rather than force to get workers and the general populace to take the vaccine,“ Wabba said.