The National Association of Current and Former Psychiatric Users (LAP) in Denmark has been tracking the government’s proposal to implement a Covid-19 vaccination passport required to travel abroad. In addition, the government has invited the Danish industrial, business and cultural sectors to collaborate on this Covid-19 passport. The idea is that Danes who have had a Covid-19 vaccination can be given increased freedom of movement if the infection risks rise, while citizens who cannot receive the Covid-19 vaccination due to health issues will have their freedom restricted. The National Association of Current and Former Psychiatric Users strongly dissociates itself from this legislation. We believe that this is a violation of privacy, as well as discrimination against vulnerable groups.
Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights safeguards the right to privacy. It ensures that all our data in public systems remain private and that neither the employer nor intriguing family members have the right to know about it.
Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights also requires that discrimination against people on the basis of e.g. illness or disability must not occur. Thus, the government must not make a distinction between people who have been vaccinated and people who have not been vaccinated – or demand that these people put private health information in the public eye.
Article 8 of the Convention infers that there may be exceptions where Article 8 may be derogated from. These derogations must apply to everyone so that there is no discrimination on the basis of a disability.
There is very good evidence that protective equipment works. Our frontline healthcare professionals use protective equipment every day to protect themselves and their citizens / patients. It has been demonstrated that in public institutions where protective equipment is used optimally based on the recommendations issued by the WHO, the spread of infection is not present, or extremely minimal.
LAP expects the government to find better solutions and use the positive opportunities available to avoid the spread of infection. We must all sacrifice something to stop the pandemic and the government has to a large extent refused to use protective equipment even though all other countries in the EU required it, within the first month after the borders to Denmark were closed. It therefore appears to be a financial problem for the government to intervene hard enough with masks, respirators, face visors, gloves, etc., because it is not as convenient as introducing invisible coercion. Not everyone can join the vaccination club the government wants to create. We cannot afford to discriminate on the basis of convenience of the government and some of the people.
There is no evidence of how complex this health issue can be, and the vaccine could do more harm than good. Therefore, it must be up to the individual to decide whether it makes sense to receive a vaccination or whether it is too risky.
Contact persons:
ENUSP: enusp.info@gmail.com
Notes:
ARTICLE 8
Right to respect for private and family life
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
ARTICLE 14
Prohibition of discrimination
The enjoyment of the rights and freedoms set forth in this Convention shall be secured without discrimination on any ground such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, association with a national minority, property, birth or other status.
https://www.echr.coe.int/Documents/Convention_ENG.pdf