Freedom of the Seas and Human Rights Protection

About

The project explores how freedom of the seas affects protection of human rights at sea. 

From Aeneas, to the pilgrims of the Mayflower, to the thousands of people who use the Mediterranean and other routes for migration, the free seas have been the means for trying to reach safety and protection. However, freedom of the seas has also underpinned colonial domination and the slave trade, in the Atlantic Ocean and other seas. Today, freedom of the seas, coupled with practices such as flags of convenience, bunkering and transshipment, often means impunity for all those who breach the human rights of people at sea on a daily basis.

Having recourse at a combination of historical, critical and contemporary perspectives, the project will achieve three main aims:

  1. To trace and critically assess the interaction between the genesis and development of the principle of freedom of the seas and its impact on people, including legacy of colonial domination and the slave trade;
  2. To analyse the emancipatory potential of freedom of the seas for individuals, going beyond sectorial approach (e.g. migration or piracy) and adopting a holistic outlook on human activities at sea;
  3. And to offer a conceptual framework for reconstructing this principle to align with the modern aims of the international community concerning protection and fulfilment of human rights for all people, including those at sea.

The project is closely related to the activities of the SOAS Centre for the Study of Colonialism, Empire and International Law and of the SOAS Centre for Human Rights Law.

Meet the people

Contact

For further information, please contact Irini Papanicolopulu at ip14@soas.ac.uk or Andrea Longo at al77@soas.ac.uk

Funding 

The project is funded through the British Academy Global Professorship scheme, awarded to Professor Irini Papanicolopulu in 2022. It will run for 4 years, from 2023 to 2027

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