Human Rights on the Agenda at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice

How can governments and ocean industries ensure that the human rights of people living off, living by, and working on the ocean are protected and respected? This was the question the Rafto Foundation and partners from the Ocean and Human Rights Platform addressed during the UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice in June.

On board the tall ship Statsraad Lehmkuhl, representatives from the UN, civil society, academia and business gathered to discuss these issues. Rafto, Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and the Mayor of Bergen hosted the event “Ocean and Human Rights: One Ocean Equity and the Right to a Healthy, Sustainable Ocean for All”.

The Mayor in Bergen and Executive Director in Rafto on boad the ship right before the events started. Photo: The Rafto Foundation.

The broad panel of speakers included Vidar Helgesen (Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission UNESCO), Astrid Puentes Riaño, (Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment), Johnson Jament (Director of Blue Green Coastal Resources in India), Gabriella Kossmann (NORAD), Nathalie Komatitsch (Human Rights Expert), Peter Haugan (Policy Director of the Norwegian Institute for Marine Research), and Rafto laureate Nnimmo Bassey (Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF).

Rafto laureate Nnimmo Bassey 2012 (Director of Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF). Photo: The Rafto Foundation.

The Special Rapporteur highlighted key findings from her 2024 report to the UN Human Rights Council on the connection between human rights and the ocean. The report states that: “...there is little understanding of what a human rights-based approach entails and how to incorporate it into ocean-related efforts”. The report also observes the increasing risks faced by ocean defenders in many parts of the world.

Astrid Puentes Riaño (Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights to Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment) spoke about key findings in key findings from her 2024 report to the UN Human Rights Council. Photo: The Rafto Foundation.

The Rafto Foundation was also a co-hosted the official side-event during the UN Ocean Conference focusing on the role of art in the protection and promotion of the human rights of those living off and by the ocean. In this panel Johnson Jament, Peter Hauganand and Nnimmo Bassey attended alongside Leno Ignatious (Blue Green Coastal Resources), Tanguy Abittan (Metis Fund for Arts and Development), and artistand curator Sithabile Mlotshwa. The event was moderated by Natalie Komatitsch.

During the UNOC conference Rafto had several meetings and attended a number of side-events related to the topic of human rights and the ocean.