Given that December 10 is the Human Rights Day, it is important to remember that in 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Right, what believed to be an accomplishment those times, proclaiming equality for all regardless color, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
In light of the day, Greenpeace Southeast Asia launched a report focusing on the modern form of slavery, discussing about the incident where 13 foreign distant water fishing vessels have been accused of forced labor and other human rights abuses against migrant fishers from Southeast Asia.
The report describes the lives of the migrant fishers – mainly from Indonesia and the Philippines – focusing on their living and working conditions.
Also, the paper exposes a system of recruitment which traps many Indonesian migrant fishers, leading them to forced labor.
Four main risks were concluded:
- deception involving 11 foreign fishing vessels;
- withholding of wages involving nine foreign fishing vessels;
- excessive overtime involving eight foreign fishing vessels;
- physical and sexual abuse involving seven foreign fishing vessels.
To explore more click herebelow
In light of the recent news of Taiwanese fishermen working and living conditions, Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) published a study detailing the former’s conditions in the Taiwanese fishing industry.
HRAS highlights the imbalance between migrant fishers, the vessel owners and the recruitment and manning agencies resulting in inappropriate arbitrary termination of the work contract by employer and the denial of workers’ rights for sick leave.
Taiwan is now following the process to adopt the ILO C188 Work in Fishing Convention with the associated safety, labor and social welfare standards. Yet, evidence continues to be made available that recruitment and manning agency actions are often sub-standard.
Concluding, the study reveals gaps in fair management practices for the protection of fishers.
To learn more on the case study click herebelow