Combatting the smuggling of persons by sea under the UNCLOS high seas regime

Abstract

The Secretary General of the United Nations has identified the crime of smuggling of persons by sea as one of the seven major threats to maritime security. Various factors - including economic deprivation, war, and violations of human rights - have all contributed to a dramatic increase in human smuggling. The dangerous journeys, often across the high seas, have forced irregular migrants to seek the assistance of smugglers to reach their destinations. Today, the international community faces serious problems raised by the smuggling of thousands of persons such as human tragedies, threats to the safety of navigation, and major economic burdens on recipient States. Regrettably, there are no provisions in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which deal directly with this threat. Notwithstanding this lacuna, there are certain rules in the Convention that are relevant and indeed may contribute to combatting this crime. This article will examine to what extent, if at all, does the high seas regime in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, provide a legal basis for com batting the smuggling of persons by sea.