UK NGO Human Rights At Sea Shuts Down Over Lack Of Sustainable Funding

The Trustees of the UK NGO Human Rights at Sea (HRAS) have taken the decision to close the charity since a sustainable funding and operating model cannot be secured.

Since its foundation in 2014, HRAS has issued over 100 publications, helped support policy and legal changes for protections at sea in over 50 countries, and participated in three EU funded programmes, one leading to the new EU ‘BlueRights’ initiative led by former Board members. Key highlights include;

• The first civil society Code of Conduct for rescue of migrants in the Mediterranean
• The first state-level conference on Human Rights at Sea in Mumbai in 2019
• Formulating the Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea in 2019
• Achieving UN Economic and Social Council status as a recognised NGO in 2022

Although the charity is closing, the website is being preserved to ensure continued free access to a decade’s worth of reports and data.

The Geneva Declaration on Human Rights at Sea continues to gain traction as the landmark document on maritime human rights and the Trustees look forward to others contniuing to promote it.

David Hammond, the founder and former CEO of Human Rights at Sea will be leading work to ensure that the website is preserved, freely accessible to all.

The Trustees thank the supporters, funders, advisors, staff and partners who have supported the charity’s work over the past ten years, and especially David whose vision, energy and drive has done so much to establish and advance the cause of human rights at sea.

Press Release