Protection of Health at Sea
Sub-working groups
Sub-working group 3.1
The SWG will focus on the living and working conditions on board different vessels and platforms and how these impact upon the right to health of the crew, passengers, and other people who may be on board them. The SWG will address health in its various forms, with the exception of situations that pose a direct and immediate threat to life (which fall under the mandate of SWG 1.3) and situations which may impact upon the mental health and well being of these persons (which will be addressed by SWG 3.2). the SWG will assess the extent to which existing regulatory frameworks focusing on safety of vessels and platforms, on the one hand, and labour rights, on the other also ensure the protection of the right to health. The SWG will identify the best practices and advance suggestions for making them universal.
Sub-working group 3.2
The SWG will address mental health and wellbeing in its different forms, including issues related to harassment and gender and other types of discrimination. The SWG will identify existing rules, will assess their impact, and will examine whether their application is universal and whether further rules and regulations must be developed to fully protect the right to mental health and well-being on board vessels and platforms for crews and for anyone else present on them.
Sub-working group 3.3
The SWG will address exceptional situations which may pose a concrete threat to the right to health of crews, passengers, and other people on board vessels, ranging from situations of armed conflict, quarantines linked to contagious diseases, as well as other situations which are not regularly encountered by people on board vessels and platforms. The SWG will try to identify existing rules and soft law, and will advance normative proposals for the protection of the right to physical and mental health for all the people involved in such situations and finding themselves at sea.