At 1397th CM Meeting, which was held on 3rd March 2021, the CoE Commissioner for Human Rights Ms Dunja Mijatovic presented Paper on “Protecting the Right to Health through Inclusive and Resilient Health Care for All” and in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the Commissioner highlighted in particular issues related to the right to mental health and in general the importance of access to medicines and vaccines.

At the same meeting Ambassador Đurović shared relevant information about successful vaccination process in Serbia.

Ambassador stated:

“Protection of the right to health is certainly one of the crucial topics during the crises that we are going through.

My country has been, just like whole Europe and the World, severely hit by the Covid-19 crisis. Enormous efforts have been undertaken to face the challenges on all levels and in all areas, having in mind, at the same time, not only the obligations related to non-discriminatory access of citizens to health services, but also to all the other rights guaranteed by the Constitution. I believe that our approach and results coincide with your recommendations.

Mass vaccination started on 19 January and now citizens of Serbia can request the vaccine they want, choosing from the four ones that have been approved by the competent authorities. At this moment among the European states, Serbia is the second in the number of vaccinations per capita and the fifth in the World. When we talk about the number of revaccinations, Serbia is the fourth in the world and the first in Europe.

In this process, we widely used the artificial intelligence and high technology to make sure that every citizen has equal, simple and quick access to the vaccines, and this approach was praised by media worldwide. There are clear rules on priority groups with respect to the level of risk for different groups, vulnerabilities and optimal achievements. It has been inclusive and transparent, thus avoiding any potential risk of discrimination.

We are especially happy to have been able to help some of the neighbouring states that still have not been provided with vaccines, by supplying a number of them, as a sign of solidarity. I would also like to emphasize that a large number of the members of diplomatic corps in Serbia have already been vaccinated.”