Human Rights at Sea is pleased to issue its multi-year review report covering 2023-2025.
"Well-being is a fundamental human right of seafarers. Their right to a safe and decent workplace, repatriation, protection in case of abandonment, and fair treatment must be upheld. Human Rights at Sea has, over the past decade, made a substantial contribution in advocating for those who live, work or are in dire condition at sea. The work to uphold human rights for seafarers is not over – and will continue."
Arsenio Dominguez
Secretary-General, International Maritime Organisation
The review is a collation of ongoing project and collaborative work undertaken during a period which saw the evolution of the organisation after a decade from a charity to a social enterprise organisation.
It covers our strategic campaigns, filmmaking of Death at Sea, our House of Lords event, work in the Northern Ireland fisheries sector, engagement with partners, academic insights,
Since its conception in March 2013 and formal establishment in April 2014, we have continually existed to ensure that the fundamental human rights protections we expect to be applied on land, are equally respected and upheld at sea.
The Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea is the cornerstone of the ongoing legacy. Conceived in 2019 as a response to systemic abuse, it brought together existing international human rights law and the law of the sea into a single, accessible “soft law” reference, confirming obligations and clarifying roles and expectations. Today, it remains a powerful and practical tool for policymakers, lawyers, institutions and advocates.
Dr. Matthew Vickers
Chair of Trustees 2019-2025
Our social purpose is to promote and uphold the human rights set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent United Nations conventions for seafarers, fishers, and all those who live, work and transit at sea, anywhere in the world.
"So, much remains to be done. As Human Rights at Sea enters 2026, I take considerable pride in its achievements to date and remain confident in it determination to make a substantive and constructive contribution in the years ahead."
Lord Robin Teverson, Patron.
Our call to action: Systemic and comprehensive enforcement of fundamental human rights protections at sea, without exception.
Our sincere thanks go to all who continue to support us.
Download
ENDS.
Source: Human Rights at Sea 2026.
AI. AI was not used in this article.
Photo Credit: iStock.
Contact: If you have any questions, please write to us at enquiries@hrasi.org.
About Sharing. We welcome the use and dissemination of our copyrighted work with full, accurate and proper accreditation. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third-party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
©Copyright and Intellectual Property of Human Rights at Sea CIC (HRAS) 2025. All rights reserved.