COST Action Project "BlueRights"

Representatives of UMBA have joined the COST Action CA23103 ‘Life, Liberty, and Health: Ensuring Universal Protection of Human Rights at Sea’ (BlueRights). Olena Ptashenchuk has been nominated as one of the two members of the Management Committee (MC) to represent Ukraine.

“COST Action “BlueRights” is a research network exploring, from a legal perspective, how basic human rights – the rights to life, liberty and health – can be enjoyed also by people at sea and by all people at sea, and what action needs to be taken to this end by States and other actors. The oceans are attracting growing attention, but people at sea still receive little consideration by stakeholders, scholars and the public at large. The frequent violations of their most basic human rights often go unseen and unpunished. As a result, human rights violations on board merchant ships, fishing vessels and cruise liners are thriving, including in European waters.

COST Action “BlueRights” brings together academics, practitioners and stakeholders working in the field of human rights at sea. The grant - around €500,000 over four years - will be used to fund networking activities such as workshops, conferences, training schools, capacity building events, publications and dissemination activities, and short-term exchanges between researchers.”

Ensuring human rights at sea

Prof. Anna Petrig / Action Chair, Faculty of Law, University of Basel

Representatives of UMBA plan to take an active role in the Working Group (WG) on the Protection of Life at Sea, in particular the Sub-Working Group (SWG) on the Use of Force.

So far, UMBA has participated in the following events as part of the project:

• In-person at the 1st Management Committee (MC) meeting of the COST BlueRights Action, COST premises, Brussels, Belgium (31/10/2024).
• Online at the SWG meeting on the Use of Force, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, United Kingdom (23/01/2025).
• Online at the opening conference of the COST Action BlueRights, ‘Life, Liberty, and Health at Sea,’ SOAS University of London, London, United Kingdom (24/01/2025).