ILO STANDARDS VERSUS THE LAW OF ARMED CONFLICT: IDENTIFYING THE AREAS THAT HAMPERS THE MARITIME LABOUR RIGHTS DURING WARTIME AT THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ

Abstract

The 2026 Persian Gulf War, involving the most powerful nations on earth, has led to a grave threat to world peace in general and, in particular, a threat to the thousands of seafarers who are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. This scholarly work focuses on the provisions and implementation challenges of the Maritime Labour Convention and UNCLOS, which bestows upon the mariners their right to refuse employment and safe return to their home during wartime. However, many nations failed to perform their international obligations towards the rescue of victims during the 2026 war. This brief study shows a gap between exercising the seafarers' rights and the non-implementation of international standards by the nations. This study focuses more on the principle of distinction, the principle of due regard, and timely rescue operations at sea. Thus, the protection of global oil trade and its workers can only be realised if the State parties acknowledge the seafarer’s rights under the lens of human rights rather than State-centric privileged legal obligation.