THE UNITED Nations Economic and Social Council has granted Human Rights at Sea special consultative status.
The UN Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC) aims to advance economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
According to HRAS, the UN ECOSOC grants consultative status to organisations on the basis that the UN and international community can benefit from the organisation’s expertise in those areas.
“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,” HRAS head of operations Martyn Illingworth said.
HRAS chair of trustees Matthew Vickers said the organisation has been working to raise awareness, prevent, detect and remedy abuses at sea for almost nine years.
“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,” he said.
And HRAS CEO David Hammond attributed the achievement to staff and volunteers who worked hard to develop the organisation, often with limited resources.
“Today, we can quietly celebrate those years of investigations, direct challenges and exposure of abuses at sea with this valuable accreditation,” Mr Hammond said.
