Today, the Protector of Citizens initiated the investigation to control work legality and regularity of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Serbia, following the complaint of the Serbian Military Union claiming that conducting mandatory vaccination of members of the Serbian Army has been underway which, reportedly “is conducted by all Serbian Army Units following the order of the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army."

The Protector of Citizens has requested the Ministry of Defense to provide within 15 days a response to these allegations of the Serbian Military Union, as well as to the Union’s allegations that members of the Serbian Army who do not undergo vaccination are suggested that they would face disciplinary measures, that their employment contracts would be cancelled or terminated, or that they would not be able to get promotion.

“Pursuant to the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, national laws and international conventions signed by the Republic of Serbia, the immunization of citizens, including armed forces, can be encouraged through affirmative measures exclusively, and never through sanctions. Sanctions lead to discrimination that is prohibited, " said the Protector of Citizens Mr. Zoran Pašalić.

Pašalić has stated that discrimination on any grounds is prohibited by Article 14, the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides a framework for national legislation, Article 21 of the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and the Law on Prohibition of Discrimination specifying in Article 2 what is to be considered discrimination.

The Protector of Citizens has reminded that the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine prescribes that the interests and welfare of the human being prevail over the sole interest of society or science, and that the procedure related to health can be carried only if the person concerned has previously given consent and was informed about it.