The Decree of the Ministry is a Hidden Obligation: We have a Problem of Reliable Information

The interview of Araks Melkonyan and Lawyer Nina Hakobyan of the Protection of Rights without Borders NGO on the new measures to be taken to prevent the Coronavirus disease, which will enter into force from, October 1, as well as on the changes envisaged by the decree of the RA Minister of Healthcare. 

The representatives of the Organization, highlighting the legality of the recommended regulations stated that the latter are not necessary, proportionate and justified to reach the prescribed objective, that is to prevent the prevalence of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) disease and to protect the health and life of the people being under the legal control of the Republic of Armenia.  

The latter are discriminative and can lead to the violations of the employees’ of both state agencies and local self-government bodies, but also private companies. 

As stated by Araks Melkonyan, the President of the Protection of Rights without Borders NGO, the state found the target, who can be subjected to obligatory vaccination: the Government Decree is directed to only one group of society, the working citizens, who, according to official statistics are the 36% of the overall population and a questions arises whether the vaccination of the latter ensures the necessary level of resistance of the RA population.

As stated by Araks Melkonyan there is a problem of necessary, complete and accessible information related to the vaccinations, vaccines, their necessity provided by the relevant responsible bodies. 

Nina Hakobyan, the lawyer of the Organization mentioned, that the Decree will essentially lead to tension between employers and employees and to the obligation of vaccination eventually. 

The liability measures envisaged for the failure to carry out the regulation prescribed by the Decree are not clear. Particularly, the articles circulated by the RA Code of Administration Offences, by which certain penalties (Articles 182.4, 42)  are envisaged for the failure to carry out the requirements of the Decree are not clear and certain, at least their disposition and the subjects who shall be subjected to penalty are not clear and the applied penalties will lead to judicial disputes.