ENGTHE HUMAN FREEDOM AND DIGNITY MEMORANDUM
21 July 2021
Article 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia stipulates that the state shall recognise and protect fundamental human rights in accordance with the Constitution, laws and international agreements binding upon Latvia.
According to the UN International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (hereinafter – the Covenant) Article 12 Paragraph 1 the states parties to the Covenant recognize the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. The interpretation of the rights enshrined in the Covenant provided by the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that the right to health protection includes the right to decide about the person's own body, the prohibition of being subjected to medical experiments and the right to health care that allows to achieve the highest attainable standard of health[1].
All existing international documents on human vaccination against major infectious diseases concern vaccines on which scientific research has been completed and whose long-term efficacy and safety has been proven scientifically and practically.
And as a result all these international standards cannot be applied to human vaccines on which scientific research has not yet been completed[2].
Therefore:
to address the threat to democracy, defend human rights, human freedom and dignity, and respect for the principle of legal equality in Latvia;
to avoid segregation, discrimination of human beings and promotion of unequal treatment, especially in matters regarding health, employment, education, free movement, and to avoid social divisions;
to strengthen civil society based on provisions of Article 2 of the Constitution of the Republic of Latvia and exercising rights and duties of a citizen set forth in the Constitution and international documents, feeling responsibility to the state and the society;
to remind the decision-makers that democracy and promotion of human rights is enshrined as one of the main duties in the European Union (hereinafter – the EU) founding treaties;
to prevent the state from stepping back in an uncontrolled manner from certain obligations in the field of human rights and other basic rights guaranteed in the Constitution;
we, the authorised representatives of societies, foundations, trade unions, professional, religious and other organisations listed below and individual supporters, as well as natural persons and legal entities sign this Memorandum of cooperation and agree to defend publicly in respectful cooperation the following values:
1. Freedom of conscience. Every person has the right to seek answers to his or her questions, express doubts and his or her opinion. Everyone has the right to refuse to accept without critical thinking widely disseminated claims free of fear of being condemned for it. Expression of a person's opinion must not be a reason for termination of an employment relationship or any material sanctions.[3]
2. Voluntary nature of vaccination. Every person has the right to take care of his or her health and life according to personal beliefs and the acquired experience. Upon prior evaluation of all risks every person has the right to take a decision about vaccination (including vaccination against COVID-19) based on the priorities of his or her health. Everyone has the right to refuse to disclose publicly medical information about him or herself, as well as reasons for a refusal to vaccinate (including against COVID-19).
3. Equality regardless of the person's vaccination status. Exercising any kind of political or social influence over a person, or financial inducement to agree to vaccination (including against COVID-19) is unacceptable and must be strongly condemned. Fines, withdrawal from educational, service or employment contracts by an institution, unequal treatment by the employer must be condemned as strongly as handing out prizes and organising lotteries depending on the vaccination status. An offer to a person to take regular COVID-19 tests at his or her own expense cannot be considered an adequate alternative to vaccination at places of employment, educational institutions or in service.
Signing the Memorandum its participants acknowledge that:
1. They agree to values laid down in the Memorandum and undertake to strengthen them expressing their opinion in everyday life and implementing them through their work.
2. In their public communications treat opposite opinions with respect protecting the right of every person to express his or her opinion freely and act upon his or her beliefs.
3. They are open to cooperation with the representatives of society, politics, and public organisations of other countries to achieve common goals in the form of strengthening of the Memorandum's values.
4. They will publicly observe values and principles of the Memorandum while representing the Human Freedom and Dignity Memorandum.
Explanatory annex to the Human Freedom and Dignity Memorandum.
On 29.01.2021 the European Commission approved the Implementing Decision C(2021) 698 final granting a conditional marketing authorisation under Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council for "COVID-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca - COVID-19 Vaccine (ChAdOx1-S [recombinant])", a medicinal product for human use. Further the decision was amended by the Implementing Decision C(2021) 3851 final of 21.05.2021 (including renaming it “Vaxzevira”). Similar decisions have been made with regard to other COVID-19 vaccines marketed presently in the EU. And in each case the decisions grant a CONDITIONAL marketing authorisation valid for 1 year (from the date of notification of the decision).
According to Regulation (EC) No 726/2004 Article 14.-a Paragraph 1 “[…] In emergency situations, a marketing authorisation for such medicinal products may be granted also where comprehensive pre-clinical or pharmaceutical data have not been supplied.”
Commission Regulation (EC) No 507/2006 Article 4 Paragraph 1 provides that “A conditional marketing authorisation may be granted where the Committee finds that, although comprehensive clinical data referring to the safety and efficacy of the medicinal product have not been supplied, all the following requirements are met: [..]”. In addition one of special responsibilities of the holder of the granted marketing authorisation is completion of the started research or starting new research to confirm that the risk-benefit balance is positive (Regulation No 726/2004 Article 14.-a Paragraph 5).
Commission Regulation (EC) No 507/2006 Preamble Recital 4 provides that: “Where conditional marketing authorisations are granted, they should be restricted to situations where only the clinical part of the application dossier is less complete than normal. Incomplete pre-clinical or pharmaceutical data should be accepted only in the case of a product to be used in emergency situations, in response to public health threats”.
It follows from the foregoing that vaccines against COVID-19 cannot be legally treated in the same way that vaccines on which full data has been submitted and that have been granted (permanent) marketing authorisation are treated. Since a CONDITIONAL marketing authorisation is granted for vaccines without comprehensive pre-clinical and clinical (including pharmaceutical) data, and additional data is still required, and comprehensive clinical data on the safety and efficacy of vaccines is missing, there is no legal basis to introduce the use of such not yet tested completely vaccines as mandatory in laws and regulations in such cases.
The EU regulatory framework also contains no provisions regarding mandatory mass vaccination of human beings with such vaccines, if such conditional marketing authorisation is granted. Since pre-clinical and clinical (including pharmaceutical) studies of these vaccines have not yet been completed, any person, who agrees to be vaccinated with such a product, is actually participating in such studies, and possibly risking his or her health and life.
Subparagraph 7.3.1 of the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly Resolution of 27 January 2021 COVID-19 Vaccines: Ethical, Legal and Practical Considerations provides: “ensure that citizens are informed that the vaccination is not mandatory and that no one is under political, social or other pressure to be vaccinated if they do not wish to do so.”[4].
On 4 April 1997 EP Committee of Ministers approved Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Dignity of the Human Being with regard to the Application of Biology and Medicine: Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, where in Chapter II on CONSENT, Article 5 provides that: An intervention in the health field may only be carried out after the person concerned has given free and informed consent to it. This person shall beforehand be given appropriate information as to the purpose and nature of the intervention as well as on its consequences and risks. The person concerned may freely withdraw consent at any time.
The right to inviolability of a person's private life set out in Article 96 of the Constitution.
The right of a person to choose freely his or her employment and workplace according to their abilities and qualifications provided for in Article 106 of the Constitution. The Constitutional Court has repeatedly recognised that the first sentence of Article 106 of the Constitution does not guarantee the right to work directly, but the right to choose one's employment and workplace freely, including the right to preserve one's existing employment and workplace[5]. The fundamental rights enshrined in the first sentence of Article 106 of the Constitution protect a person against all actions of the state limiting the person's freedom to choose his or her employment[6].
Article 91 of the Constitution. The principle of legal equality prevents state authorities from issuing legislative provisions that would allow different treatment of persons in equal and comparable (based on certain criteria) circumstances without a reasonable basis [7].
Article 111, based on which the state protects human health [..]. The positive obligation of the state to protect human health is enshrined in this article, Article 96 of the Constitution, on the other hand, stipulates the negative obligation of the state to refrain from violating any person's private life. The positive obligation of the state by definition cannot have priority over the negative obligation of the state. Therefore the right of each person to private life prevails over the efforts of the state to impose mandatory vaccination on everyone (including a vaccine against COVID-19, which is still under research) under the guise of protection of human health.
The Memorandum was prepared by Baiba Rudevska, Jūlija Stepaņenko, Aira Jēkabsone based on the initiative of the group of members of parliament "For Voluntary Vaccination" and non-governmental organisations.
[1] https://www.tiesibsargs.lv/lv/pages/tiesibu-akti/ano-dokumenti/ano-starptautiskais-pakts-par-ekonomiskajam-socialajam-un-kulturas-tiesibam
[2] https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-209039%22]}
[3] Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights provides that “everyone has the right to freedom of expression”.
Article 100 of the Constitution provides that "Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to freely receive, keep and distribute information and to express his or her views. Censorship is prohibited".
[4] (https://pace.coe.int/en/files/29004#trace-4)
[5] (Judgement of the Constitutional Court of 24 November 2017.Subparagraph 13.1)
[6] Ibid.
[7] (Judgement of the Constitutional Court of 2 November 2020 in case No 2020-14-018 Paragraph ??)