The United Nations on Friday called on countries engaged in the Middle East conflict to assist with the evacuation and repatriation of roughly 6,000 seafarers stranded in the Strait of Hormuz.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged immediate measures to address the situation of the sailors, who are confronting “a dire humanitarian and human rights crisis” in the strategic waterway, his spokeswoman, Shabia Mantoo, said.
According to the International Maritime Organisation, at least 6,000 seafarers aboard hundreds of vessels remain trapped in the strait and have been unable to leave during the ceasefire.
“The parties to the conflict must urgently take steps to enable stranded seafarers to pass safely, evacuate and disembark, while also ensuring that essential supplies reach them,” Mantoo told reporters in Geneva.
“Attacks on civilian vessels are unacceptable and must end. These vessels are protected under international humanitarian law.”
Turk is also calling on governments, shipowners and other relevant parties to “urgently ensure the protection of stranded seafarers” by providing consular support and vital supplies, as well as facilitating their evacuation and repatriation, Mantoo said.
The United States carried out fresh strikes on Iran on Friday after Tehran-backed Houthi rebels attacked oil tankers in the Red Sea. The escalation sent crude prices above $100 a barrel.
The US military said the Strait of Hormuz, previously used to transport one-fifth of the world’s oil, remained “open for transit,” even as Iran continued attacking tankers traveling through the route in an effort to pressure them into paying for safe passage.
