The need to remove vaccination sanctions in Presidential Decree 14 of 2021
23 March 2021 – Presidential Decree Number 14 of 2021 concerning Amendments to Presidential Regulation Number 99 of 2020 concerning Procurement of Vaccines and Implementation of Vaccinations in the Context of Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic which was stipulated on 9 February 2021 has changed and added several provisions in the previous Presidential Decree and one of them is Articles 13A and 13B
PRESS RELEASE
The need to remove vaccination sanctions in Presidential Decree 14 of 2021
March 23, 2021 – Presidential Decree Number 14 of 2021 concerning Amendments to Presidential Regulation Number 99 of 2020 concerning Procurement of Vaccines and Implementation of Vaccinations in the Context of Overcoming the COVID-19 Pandemic which was stipulated on February 9 2021 has changed and added several provisions in the previous Presidential Decree and one of them is Articles 13A and 13B. These articles regulate data collection, determining targets for COVID-19 Vaccine recipients and the obligation to participate in COVID-19 Vaccination as well as provisions for administrative sanctions if designated Vaccine recipients do not participate in the Vaccination Program.
The imposition of sanctions regulated in Article 13A paragraph (4) is the postponement or termination of the provision of social security or social assistance, postponement or termination of government administration services and/or fines. And Article 13B emphasizes that people who do not take part in the COVID-19 vaccination will not only receive administrative sanctions but also sanction provisions in accordance with the provisions of the law regarding infectious disease outbreaks, one of which is criminal sanctions as in Articles 14 and 15 of the Infectious Disease Outbreak Law.
The Coalition considers that restrictions on Human Rights are necessary in terms of public health in order to ensure that every citizen has the right to Health and ensure that every citizen is not exposed to the spread of COVID-19. So, restrictions on human rights carried out by the State to ensure the interests of the wider community must be regulated through law according to the 1945 Constitution. However, unfortunately, these human rights restrictions are only regulated through Presidential Regulations, which are not regulations at the same level as law.
The imposition of sanctions in regulations must be understood as an effort that will not violate human rights. The imposition of sanctions in Public Health cannot be criminal sanctions and must be proportional. If you read the Presidential Decree, it is not included criminal sanctions, but the criminal sanctions are linked to the provisions in the Law on Infectious Diseases. So, this is the same as opening up opportunities for law enforcement officials to impose criminal sanctions on those who refuse to be vaccinated.
The administrative sanctions regulated in Presidential Decree 14/2021 also need to be criticized, especially the delay or termination of the provision of social security or social assistance. Because basically providing social security or social assistance is a right for every community and cannot be limited because they do not take part in the COVID-19 Vaccination. Refusal to vaccinate should not be understood as a form of rejection of government policy alone, because there are still reasons why someone refuses to be vaccinated, such as the lack of choice of vaccines and the large number of doubts regarding certain brands of vaccines. So that when people who want to be vaccinated have no other choice, refusing to be vaccinated is a fundamental right regulated according to the 1945 Constitution and the Health Law where every person has the right to independently determine the type of health services and treatment according to their own wishes.
So, regarding the above problems, we urge that:
- The Central Government revokes Presidential Decree Number 14 of 2021 and initiates law-level regulations to ensure that there are restrictions on human rights in terms of public health.
- The Central Government will immediately revoke the sanctions regulations for implementing COVID-19 vaccination if it has not ensured that the public is able to independently choose the right vaccine for themselves in accordance with the 1945 Constitution and the Health Law.
- Do not impose criminal provisions in the Infectious Disease Outbreaks Law on parties who refuse COVID-19 vaccination because it is contrary to the 1945 Constitution and the Health Law.
Jakarta, March 23 2021
Citizens Coalition for Fair Health Access
Contact Person:
Aditia Bagus Santoso YLBHI (081277741836)
Firdaus Ferdiansyah – LaporCovid-19 (087838822426)
