Organized by:

• BEBESEA

• Greenpeace

• Human Rights Now

• Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative

Background

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The Asia-Pacific maritime sector is one of the most influential sectors in the world economy. According to an Asian Development Bank report in 2021, aquaculture production in Asia accounted for 90% of the region's total and approximately half of the world's fishery production. An article published by the Asian Development Bank in 2022 stated that around 625 million people in the Southeast Asian region are dependent on the ocean economy for their livelihoods, and that it, represents 20% of the gross domestic product (GDP) of the region which is much higher than in most other regions of the world. The ocean-based economy provides significant numbers of jobs in East and Southeast Asia. As OECD states, the East Asia and Pacific region has the largest number of jobs in these industries (over 20 million) with jobs rising in the ASEAN region from 8.4 million in 2005 to 9 million in 2015.  

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A substantial share of this workforce consists of migrant fishers, which sustains both the domestic fishing industry and the export-oriented industry that serves the global food system. Despite their essential role, migrant fishers often work under exploitative and indecent conditions. The absence of formal and effective complaint mechanisms and monitoring in cross-continent and cross-regional supply chains leaves many fishers trapped in debt bondage or subjected to recurring cycles of abuse. These jurisdictional complex issues as well as the sea-blindness of human rights mechanisms, hinder bilateral or even international cooperation to protect fishers at sea (IOJI, 2022).

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As a result of stretched global productions, holding corporations accountable for human rights violations has become a challenge. This proposed panel invites speakers with lived experience on the topic concerned, and organisations advocating on human rights protection of migrant fishers with evidence-based knowledge. A 2022 report by HRWG, SBMI, and Greenpeace Southeast Asia documented ongoing cases of forced labor, trafficking in persons (TIP), wage withholding, physical violence, and abandonment at sea, particularly in long-haul fishing vessels operating out of Thailand, and Indonesia. Similarly, another research conducted by BEBESEA in 2023, also revealed various forms of human rights violations throughout the migration process experienced by migrant fishers from Southeast Asia working on fishing vessels abroad, often owned by East Asian companies. In addition, the joint publication of Greenpeace Southeast Asia and Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (SBMI), entitled Netting Profits, Risking Lives: The Unresolved Human and Environmental Exploitation at Sea found forced labour cases linked to fishing vessels owned by companies that supplied to popular United States tuna brands. At the top of the chain, Greenpeace United States’s third edition of High Cost of Cheap Tuna revealed that retailers in North America lack a direct engagement and instead rely on third-party initiatives to improve human rights standards. Concerning the markets and industries in East Asia, Human Rights Now are conducting research further documenting the presence of forced labor aboard distant-water tuna fishing vessels, particularly involving Indonesian migrant workers. It also revealed systemic issues in regulatory responses, the recruitment practices in Indonesia, and situations of Japanese fisheries-related companies' supply chain transparency and human rights due diligence. 

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In recent years, ASEAN has taken notable steps to protect migrant fishers, including the adoption of the ASEAN Declaration on the Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers (2023) and its Guidelines (2024). The preamble and operative paragraphs of both instruments contain principles and technical norms or standards within the regimes of international human rights law, labour law, and law of the sea. The Guidelines mentioned actors in the supply chain twice, emphasizing on their responsibility to promote and protect migrant fishers and the need to consult them in the policy design and implementation. 

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During the development of the declaration and guidelines, civil society, including trade unions and migrant workers’ communities, played an important role. HRWG and BEBESEA facilitated a CSO consultation with 25 organisations, including trade unions, migrant fisher grass-roots organisations, as well as individual academic researchers from ASEAN Member States and other East Asian countries, which are major destination countries of migrant fishers from the ASEAN region. Together, we developed a policy paper, which also compiled collective recommendations for the ASEAN Guidelines, which were later directly handed over to the policymakers. 

ASEAN Declaration on the Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers and its Guidelines are non-legally binding. Thus, civil society organisations, trade unions, governments, and businesses play critical roles in promoting the implementation of the guideline at national and regional levels. The jurisdictional complexity of human rights situations of migrant workers and obligations to protect the human rights of workers extend beyond ASEAN member states. Actors in the seafood supply chain, including traders and global buyers, have the power to shape labor conditions across the sector and regions through working with civil society and governments as strategic partners in the implementation of regional policy commitments not only in ASEAN member states but also their counterparts in other regions, in particular, East Asia. 

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Learning from these experiences of cross-regional and cross-sector solidarity building through a collaborative and participatory approach that centers rightsholders and impacted communities and brings multi-stakeholders together, this panel proposes an interactive discussion on human rights advocacy within the fisheries supply chain. It will demonstrate that corporate footprint in modern slavery at sea, through the experience of migrant fishers throughout their migration process, roles and responsibilities of governments, business responsibility, and corporate structures owning and operating fishing vessels and processing factories, and finally open up further discussions for multi-stakeholder engagements with actors in markets and industries at the top of supply chains. This session invites speakers from organisations based in Indonesia and Japan, one of the major supply chains of fishery products, representing the origin and destination countries of migrant workers, as well as countries hosting large traders and markets.

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Key Objectives

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• To foster cross-regional, cross-sector, and multi-stakeholder dialogue on Business and Human Rights in the Asia-Pacific fishery sector, related to migrant fishers’ rights protection;

• To learn from the evidence and practices of corporate involvement in the fishing vessel operation that includes forced labor and IUU practices in supply chains;

• To exchange knowledge on human rights situations in the fishery supply chain in East and Southeast Asia, co-learning from various initiatives and studies with a focus on the roles of various stakeholders such as governments, businesses and civil society organisations ; 

• To promote the meaningful rights holders’ proactive participation for effective implementation of the ASEAN Declaration on the Placement and Protection of Migrant Fishers and its Guidelines, in alignment with regional and international human rights instruments and labor rights instruments, ensuring impacts on the supply chain beyond the ASEAN region;

• To identify gaps and opportunities for further collaborative work among multi-stakeholders to foster leadership in the cross-regional and cross-sectoral advocacy on Business and Human Rights, in particular to expand the collective advocacy engaging with businesses for their corporate accountability.

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Guiding Questions

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• What are the current human rights situations in the fishery supply chain, and the recent developments/initiatives made by governments, businesses, and civil society to improve the situations in East and Southeast Asia?

• To what extent are actors of the seafood industry risk workers to modern slavery at sea, and what is the responsibility of actors of the value chain?

• What are the strengths and challenges of cross-regional and cross-sector collaborations, ensuring meaningful participation and multi-stakeholder engagement?

• What are the roles of regional bodies and national governments, and how can businesses and civil society better engage with regional policy advocacy? 

• What are the opportunities for future collaborations among governments, businesses and civil society to improve the human rights situation in the fishery supply chain?

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Format

• This session will consist of a panel of speakers, followed by responses from discussants/commentators. The panel explores the cross-regional and cross-border collaboration and solidarity building with an example of supply chains of fishery products (the origin and destination countries of migrant workers, as well as countries hosting large traders and markets). There will be time allocated for Q&A/Discussions with participants to share knowledge and experiences, and explore future opportunities for collaborations.

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Session Partners