Human Rights on the High Seas
The ecological degradation of the ocean has rightly attracted a great deal of attention and concern; a myriad of problems stem from resource extraction, overfishing, and rising waters due to climate change. However, another pressing concern with regards to the ocean is the flagrant disregard for human well-being and dignity on international waters. From the refugee crisis to piracy to human trafficking, the legal ambiguity of international waters paves the way for human rights issues requiring urgent attention.
International waters comprise 50% of the planet’s total surface area and are technically not under the jurisdiction of any state. The most comprehensive international legal treatise concerning the oceans is the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). This so-called “Constitution of the Oceans,” drafted by the U.N. in 1982, contains no reference to human rights whatsoever. This is ostensibly because the original purpose of the document was to promote peaceful security at sea, and to clearly define which countries have economic access to particular regions of sea. It is still deeply concerning that a nation’s right to economic access to waters have been enshrined in international law before respect for human well-being.
Out of the entire UNCLOS text, a mere two sentences in the treatise mention human well-being, in Article 146, which states that “necessary measures shall be taken to ensure effective protection of human life. To this end the Authority shall adopt appropriate rules, regulations and procedures to supplement existing international law as embodied in relevant treaties.” In essence, the only legal document concerning international waters effectively shunts the issue of preserving human rights to different international treatises, but fails to state which documents in particular should be consulted.
In documents concerning international human rights, there is likewise an absence of concern for happenings on the ocean. The UN Human Rights Commission has released documents on how to protect the rights of those at international borders, but relatively little attention has been paid to the rights of those on the open sea. This has led to openings where trafficking and human slavery is able to subsist.
Dr. Nathan Miller, a marine scientist, says that the process of transshipment, or transporting goods via ship from one country to another, is primarily how humans, drugs, and other contraband are smuggled through international waters, and can result in human slavery. “Human rights abuses have been associated with transshipment. By allowing fishing vessels to remain at sea for months or even years at a time, captains are able to keep their crew at sea indefinitely, resulting in de facto slavery,” said Miller, noting that these events primarily happen in international waters. “Nearly half of the events we tracked occur on the high seas and involve vessels that are registered in countries which may differ from the vessel’s owner and provide minimal oversight. This means that a vessel may be held to less strict standards and regulations than its home country would require.”
Currently, any nation could theoretically take judicial action on a vessel that was found to be violating international human rights law under the concept of universal jurisdiction. However, due to differences in national law (and because some nations don’t recognize international courts), there is no reason to trust individual nations to deliver justice and deter further human rights abuses.
From the refugee crisis to piracy to human trafficking, the legal ambiguity of international waters paves the way for a variety of human rights issues that need urgent attention.
The freedom of the high seas was championed in the 15th century by philosophers such as Hugo Grotius and was widely embraced by European powers in order to facilitate large-scale exploration and colonization. A nation’s ability to freely access the ocean directly ties into the ability of its citizens to travel and is an important component of the economic development of many nations. Yet this principle has also paved the way for rampant human rights abuses, overfishing, piracy, and other criminal acts. There is a clear and urgent need for international bodies to remedy this loophole, and for human rights on the high seas to be better protected.