World Human Rights Day, celebrated on December 10th, marks the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. It’s a day to honor the principles of equality, freedom, and dignity for all, and to reaffirm our commitment to protecting human rights worldwide.
As explained by United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) in its Securing the Seas report, human rights are universal and apply equally at sea as they do on land. However, “there is significant and growing evidence of widespread, deliberate, and often systematic abuse of human rights at sea.”
These abuses include issues such as forced labor and slavery on fishing vessels and other ships, the abandonment of seafarers in ports far from home, the victimization of seafarers by pirates and other maritime criminals, instances of physical and sexual abuse on ships, the treatment of irregular migrants, and the plight of trafficked people at sea. Thus, UNIDIR presents the following regarding human rights at sea:
Challenges in applying human rights laws at sea
The application of human rights laws and norms faces unique challenges in the maritime domain, requiring a tailored response. This is due to the special legal status of the oceans, where large areas of the sea are beyond the territorial jurisdiction of States. Under these circumstances, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) assigns responsibility for maintaining and enforcing human rights standards at sea to flag States, whose capacity and willingness to do so vary widely. Additionally, the relative opacity and isolation of human activities at sea make identifying human rights abuses difficult and often reliant on voluntary reporting by ships’ masters or crew.
Avoidance of scrutiny and enforcement challenges
Users of the sea are diverse and multinational, with human rights standards differing greatly between actors and sectors. Those wishing to avoid scrutiny of their activities can do so in multiple ways, such as changing the flag or registration details of their vessels. Beneficial ownership may be deliberately obscured through shell companies and other strategies. Maritime law enforcement agencies may lack the capacity, expertise, or authority to monitor and investigate human rights abuses, even when they occur in their own territorial waters or EEZs. Moreover, law enforcement activities at sea may themselves lead to human rights abuses, such as when ‘push back’ tactics are used against irregular migrant boats.
Responsibilities of states and the international community
The enforcement of human rights standards at sea generally falls to States, whether as flag, coastal, or port States. However, protecting human rights for all people, whether at sea or on land, is a collective responsibility of the international community. The United Nations has a key role to play in this regard, which implicates three distinct international legal regimes.
The law of the sea
The first is the law of the sea, particularly UNCLOS, along with agreements under the auspices of the IMO, such as the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, which specifies minimum safety standards for ships at sea, and the Cape Town Agreement of 2012, which regulates fishing vessels.
International labor law regime
The second is the international labor law regime. The key United Nations agency here is the International Labour Organization. Relevant agreements include the Maritime Labour Convention of 2006, which details seafarers’ rights and port State obligations, and the Work in Fishing Convention of 2007, which regulates working conditions on fishing vessels. While both conventions have implicit human rights implications, neither is designed to function as a comprehensive human rights instrument.
The United Nations human rights regime
Finally, there is the United Nations human rights regime, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and related conventions, the Human Rights Council, and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. To date, these bodies have primarily focused on human rights on land, with far less attention given to the specific demands and vulnerabilities of the maritime domain.
Need for a coordinated response
There is a need for a joined-up United Nations response to the challenge of protecting human rights at sea, which can translate between the three legal regimes mentioned and incorporate other relevant agencies such as the IOM. Specific actions could include considering flag State responsibilities in the Universal Periodic Review of the Human Rights Council. Additionally, a future comprehensive treaty on human rights at sea should not be ruled out, UNIDIR concludes.
