Take this link for My Covid Record or you can take the following link for the same information https:// app.covid19.health.nz/8 The Human Rights Commission welcomes the Government’s clear confirmation that proof of vaccine status will never be used for essential public services such as hospitals and transport. Human rights implications Requiring evidence of vaccine status to secure entry to premises or events engages a number of human rights, such as freedom of assembly and freedom of religion. Ensuring that any use of vaccination certificates complies with human rights involves demonstrating that the use in question is necessary to achieve a pressing social aim (eg. protection of public health), goes no further than necessary to achieve that aim, and is proportionate. If a measure involving less interference with people’s rights could achieve the stated objective, it ought to be used. An essential element of proportionality is that the interference is timebound, lasting no longer than strictly necessary. In terms of necessity, the aims of introducing vaccination certificates are, for example, to protect people from the virus; encourage vaccine uptake among younger people; and avoid closure of areas of the economy. 8 3 In terms of proportionality, the Government must be able to demonstrate that it has fully considered the potential negative impact on people’s human rights and balanced that against the societal interest. An important element of this will be to explain why the proposed scheme does not include the alternative of a negative COVID-19 test for those who cannot prove they have been vaccinated. At the time of writing the Government had not set out its assessment of proportionality. In the interests of transparency and accountability, the Government should publish its full reasoning, including any evidence relied upon. Take-up of COVID-19 vaccines is lower among some groups, and use of vaccination certificates will therefore particularly impact people in these groups. Many of these groups have also been disproportionately impacted by the virus, and the response to it. If considering the introduction of vaccination certificates in new areas it will be important to hear directly from people who would be excluded from those spaces, in order to properly understand the impact on them before weighing that against the societal interest. The Government must ensure that vaccination certificates are not used in a way that results in disproportionate interference with people’s rights. That requires ensuring that any scheme is temporary, with regular, open and transparent review of its ongoing necessity and proportionality. See the Government’s Covid-19 website: https://covid19.govt.nz/alert-levels-and-updates/covid-19-protection/ Specific conditions briefing: upholding human rights protections in the use of vaccination certificates under Aotearoa’s proposed Covid-19 Protection Framework