The Brussels Diplomatic Academy and Téthys Naval hosted the first of a planned series of maritime talks in Belgium focusing on maintaining an active and collaborative narrative around improving human and labour rights' protections at sea.

On 4 November 2025 at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), the 'Human Rights Perspectives at Sea' event brought together diplomats, unions, military officers, humanitarian organisations, maritime professionals, academics, students, journalists, and other key stakeholders.

The aim was to break down silos and foster dialogue on the human rights dimension of maritime activity, and the lived realities at sea.

In the first session moderated by Judge Ida CARACCIOLO of International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS), the topics covered 'Labour Rights at Sea under UNCLOS & UDHR' led by Dorota LOST-SIEMINSKA of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and 'Labour Conditions at Sea under MLC' by Fernanda LUCK SANTOS CAFISO of the International Labour Office (ILO).

In the following sessions, moderated by Prof. Dr. Cailin MACKENZIE of the Brussels Diplomatic Academy (BDA), topics covered included:

  • Life at Sea: Patrick BOYENS, Koninklijk Belgisch Zeemanscollege (KBZ-CRMB)
  • Human Rights Protections at Sea: David HAMMOND Esq., AFNI (Founder Human Rights at Sea)
  • Invest at Sea: Diana SANABRIA, Hapag-Lloyd AG
  • Justice at Sea: Philipp HERMES, Téthys Naval
  • Crisis at Sea: Julien RAICKMAN, Médecins sans Frontières (MSF)
  • Crime at Sea: Jamie WILLIAMSON, International Code of Conduct Association (ICoCA)
Comment

Once again, a high-level conference brought together a senior cross-section of maritime stakeholders to discuss the scope and context of need, ongoing law and policy initiatives, while highlighting the ongoing failures in upholding basic rights in the maritime commercial and civil society sectors.

The fact that decades on with such discussions being maintained and consistently repeated, the reality is that fundamental protections for persons living, working and transiting at sea remain grossly wanting and are often absent in daily business conduct.

In 2025, impunity, a lack of accountability and the lack of deterrent effect remain core issues yet to be solved on a collective level. This further notes the primacy of national positions over-riding the interests and protections of the individual as currently exampled in the continued criminalisation of seafarers.

ENDS.

 

Source: Human Rights at Sea 2025. 

AI. AI was not used in the drafting of this article.

Photo Credit: Brussels Diplomatic Academy.

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