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HFW advises on development of Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea

Global law firm HFW has supported UK-based non-government organisation Human Rights at Sea in support of development of a new Geneva Declaration designed to define and defend the human rights of the global maritime population and those crossing the world’s oceans and seas.

user iconJerome Doraisamy 02 March 2023 Big Law
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Firm: HFW (Human Rights at Sea)

Deal: HFW has advised on the translation of the declaration into nine languages — Ukrainian, Russian, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Norwegian, and Spanish — “to assist HRAS’ efforts to secure the support of states around the world for submission to the UN Human Rights Council to formally adopt the declaration”, the firm said in a statement.

“With the war in Ukraine now entering its second year, HRAS is discreetly supporting in-conflict and post-conflict activities to obtain justice for victims of human rights abuses, in particular the coastal communities in the Black Sea and Sea of Azov,” HFW continued.

“The declaration targets human rights abuses stemming from piracy, criminal violence, breaches of maritime labour rights, seafarer abandonment, slavery, trafficking, child labour, and failures in equality and inclusion.”

Area: Shipping and maritime law

Value: N/A

Key players: The HFW team included partner Alex Kemp. 

Deal significance: Speaking about the advice provided, Mr Kemp said: “HFW is incredibly proud to continue to assist HRAS on this vitally important issue.

“The Geneva Declaration is a major milestone in the fight to end human rights abuses at sea. We would encourage organisations around the world to support the declaration in any way that they can, so that the lives of seafarers, who play such a crucial role to everyone’s day-to-day lives, are protected by law.”

HRAS chief executive David Hammond added: “We are incredibly grateful to HFW for its dedicated and ongoing support. The firm has been with us since the beginning and has played a vital role throughout the development of the declaration.

“These translations are essential in enabling and encouraging the use of the declaration around the world, to help to obtain justice for victims of human rights abuses at sea.”

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy

Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.

You can email Jerome at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. 

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