Human Rights at Sea is proud to announce that the United Nations Economic and Social Council has formally recognised the organisation and granted it “Special Consultative Status”.

Martyn Illingworth, Head of Operations said: “This status will allow our specialist NGO to directly participate in the work of the UN by sharing innovations, findings and related reports; forming beneficial partnerships with governments, the private sector and civil society to elevate awareness and widen the collective platform to address human rights abuses at sea.”

Consultative status is given to civil society organisations on the underlying basis that the UN and the international community can benefit from the expertise of those fighting against human rights violations, struggling against climate change and pushing to achieve the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

Matthew Vickers, Chair of Trustees, said: “It has been nearly nine years since Human Rights at Sea opened its doors to raise awareness and prevent, detect and remedy abuses at sea. This is an exciting step in our ongoing efforts to join hands with others across the globe to provide long-lasting solutions where it is most needed, and we will seek every opportunity we can to bring our knowledge and expertise to bear on the UN and its subsidiaries’ work as part of this prestigious international network.”

David Hammond, CEO and Founder, said: “Our success in this endeavour for UN recognition is down to the tenacity of our staff and volunteers, both past and present, who have worked so incredibly hard and often with very limited resources to develop our international platform. Today, we can quietly celebrate those years of investigations, direct challenges and exposure of abuses at sea with this valuable accreditation.”