The action was taken for human rights at sea. The Geneva Declaration of Human Rights at Sea was launched today to define and defend the human rights of the global maritime population and those crossing the world’s oceans and seas.
The declaration, developed by the UK-based Human Rights at Sea organization, targets human rights abuses resulting from piracy, criminal violence, violations of maritime labor rights, seafarer abandonment, slavery, human trafficking, child labor, and failures inequality and inclusion.
The statement was prepared by a team of experts in their fields, after three years of research. While the Declaration applies to seafarers, fishermen, offshore oil and gas workers, and those working in the tourism industry, it also covers travelers, scientists, government officials on maritime and coast guard ships, immigrants and refugees, and people engaged in illegal activities.
Given the challenging and poorly regulated nature of the global maritime environment, the abuse of human rights at sea cannot be avoided. Unfortunately, sailors continue to die and be attacked at sea. The Geneva Declaration has been prepared to prevent these and will be implemented.
David Hammond, CEO of Human Rights at Sea said, “We estimate that there are around 30 million men, women and children at sea at any given time.” All of them have human rights. Unfortunately, they are out of sight and out of mind as far as most people are concerned. human rights are violated or abused for no reason. Those responsible for the ill-treatment of defenseless people at sea go unpunished. This declaration aims to protect the vulnerable and end impunity for abusers. For too long the sea has been a space where those who want to abuse people’s human rights are allowed to do so freely and without consequences.”
The Declaration is structured around the understanding that the protection of human rights at sea is based on four fundamental principles,
* Human rights at sea are universal, valid at sea as well as on land.
* All people at sea have human rights without any discrimination.
* There is no specific reason to deny human rights at sea.
* All human rights established under both the treaty and customary international law must be respected at sea.
* Compliance with human rights
The declaration does not include any new obligations. No state is asked to take on new responsibilities. The Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea promotes compliance with human rights at sea by guiding port states, coastal states, and flag states to help expand their human rights protections and supports its vision to end abuse.
The Declaration provides practical information on how states can fulfill their obligations under existing international human rights law. For example, flag states are responsible for ensuring that human rights on board are respected. The Declaration guides when this should happen on the high seas and in the territorial sea.
The overlapping of human rights obligations of flag states, port states, and coastal states is addressed in the declaration, encouraging cooperation between these parties.