Geneva (AFP) – The United Nations on Friday called for the safe evacuation and repatriation of some 6,000 sailors stuck in a “dire humanitarian and human rights crisis” in the Strait of Hormuz. UN human rights chief Volker Turk called for urgent action to remedy the plight of thousands of seafarers caught up in the Middle East war, his spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said. The International Maritime Organization has said there are at least 6,000 seafarers on hundreds of vessels who are stranded in the strait, unable to evacuate during the ceasefire. Many others are unaccounted for.
Turk is urging states, ship owners, and all other relevant actors to “urgently ensure the protection of stranded seafarers,” including through consular assistance and providing essential supplies, “and by facilitating evacuations and repatriations,” Mantoo told a press conference in Geneva. “Parties to the conflict should urgently work to facilitate safe passage for stranded seafarers to safely evacuate and disembark, as well as ensure the delivery of critical supplies,” Mantoo added.
The war, which erupted at the end of February, resumed this month after a ceasefire that had lasted just a few weeks, throwing the region back into chaos as Iran and the United States battle for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
– Attacks on civilian shipping –
The US military insists that the strategic waterway — through which one fifth of the world’s oil passed before the war — is “open for transit” after Iran pressed on with attacks on tankers using the route in a bid to strong-arm them into paying for safe passage. “Attacks against civilian vessels are unacceptable and must stop. They are protected under international humanitarian law,” said Mantoo. “Seafarers remain exposed to hostilities as deadly attacks in the strait continue — facing imminent risks of death or harm,” the spokeswoman said, adding that 17 seafarers had been reported killed since the conflict erupted at the end of February.
The UN rights office said some seafarers had been abandoned at sea by ship owners who had left them without support, repatriation, and wages, including at least nine ships with 93 crew members. “The seafarers have been left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity, or means to communicate with their families,” said Mantoo.
– Ukraine conflict –
Turk also raised concerns for seafarers in other conflict zones, notably in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, as a result of Russia’s war in Ukraine. Shipping companies have suspended services to Ukraine’s Black Sea ports following mounting Russian attacks on the coast. The UN rights office said it had verified at least four attacks on civilian vessels in the Odesa region this month, in which 34 vessel workers were killed or injured. Ukraine is a major commodity exporter, with 90 percent passing through Black Sea ports in and around Odesa.
“Seafarers should not be forced or compelled to endanger their lives by sailing through conflict zones. Nor should they face the risk of reprisal by shipowners if they decline these assignments,” said Mantoo.
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