The Max Planck Foundation co-hosted the workshop in cooperation with ASEAN and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
On 2-4 December 2024, the ASEAN-Germany Cooperation Project continued with the first of two workshops on ‘Human Rights at Sea’ for officials of ASEAN Member States & Timor-Leste, this one focusing on international standards and challenges in protecting seafarers, fishers and other persons at sea. The workshop was held with the generous support of the German Federal Foreign Office.
The three-day workshop, co-hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, focused on the recognised successes, challenges and gaps in the context of protecting persons at sea.
Opening remarks were provided by Ms Suchada Maktara (Director of the Political and Security Division, Department of ASEAN Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and Mr Maximilian Müller (First Secretary & Political Counsellor, German Embassy to Thailand).
In addition to numerous sessions by the Foundation’s research fellows addressing, for example, shared concerns and ‘jurisdiction’ in both the law of the sea and international human rights law, the programme featured presentations by invited experts on protecting persons at sea, as well as a rich site visit and briefing by UNODC Regional Office for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, and a thought-provoking screening of ‘Death at Sea’ (Sara Pipernos; HRASi, 2024). The workshop included roundtable discussions to facilitate and deepen exchanges among participants.
As the protection of persons at sea represents a fundamentally cross-cutting challenge for ocean governance, including in the setting and application of international standards, a variety of stakeholders and perspectives are necessary – as evidenced in the breadth of research fellows’ presentations and the guest speakers kindly contributing their expertise to the agenda. The latter included insightful sessions by Mr Ben Harkins (ILO), Judge Kriangsak Kittichaisaree (ITLOS), Assistant Professor Dr Thanapat Chatinakrob (Thammasat University) and Assistant Professor Dr Naparat Kranrattanasuit (Mahidol University).
The Foundation looks forward to continuing cooperation with the ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Member States, Timor-Leste and the academic community across diverse components of the current ASEAN-Max Planck Foundation Project.