GENEVA, Jul. 24 — The United Nations on Friday urged the safe evacuation and repatriation of about 6,000 sailors stranded in the Strait of Hormuz, warning that the trapped crews are facing a “dire humanitarian and human rights crisis” as fighting in the region drags on.
UN human rights chief Volker Turk has asked states, ship owners, and other responsible parties to act at once to protect the seafarers, provide consular help, deliver essential supplies, and open safe routes for evacuation. UN spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo said the conflict parties must also ensure that stranded crews can leave the area safely and disembark without further danger, according to Arab News
The International Maritime Organization says hundreds of vessels are stuck in the strait, and many sailors remain unaccounted for. The UN says some ship owners have left crews without wages, medical support, fuel, food, water, electricity, or even a working way to contact their families.
Mantoo said attacks against civilian vessels are unacceptable and must stop because international humanitarian law protects them. She added that seafarers remain exposed to deadly strikes in the strait, where 17 sailors have reportedly been killed since the conflict erupted at the end of February.
The UN also warned that the crisis is not limited to the Gulf. Turk raised concerns about crews in the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, where the war in Ukraine has also made maritime trade more dangerous. In Ukraine’s Odesa region, the UN says it has verified attacks on civilian vessels this month that killed or injured 34 workers.
The message from Geneva was blunt: seafarers should not be forced to gamble with their lives just to keep global shipping moving.
