Fisheries, aquaculture and human rights in Chile: the duty of the state to promote, protect and respect human rights

On 25 August 2022 the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) organized a half day seminar in Valparaiso, Chile on the topic ‘Fisheries, aquaculture and human rights: the duty of the state to promote, protect and respect human rights’, gathering over 40 experts. The seminar was organized with the support of the Undersecretariat of Fisheries and Aquaculture (Subpesca) and Undersecretariat of Human Rights (Subsecretaria de Derechos Humanos),

The seminar's purpose was to bring together key government stakeholders, civil society and academic experts to build the capacity of stakeholders and allow for dialogue and reflection on labour rights, human rights and environmental issues in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors. The main focus of the seminar was the state's to promote, protect and respect human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in Chile’s second National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.

This summary report captures the highlights of the presentations given by six experts. It also includes a summary of group work where participants worked on three cases related to human rights impacts on fisheries and aquaculture, discussing what actions state actors should take if such scenarios would occur in Chile.

All participants agreed that the seminar was a valuable event to foster dialogue and action to further promote the uptake of human rights in fisheries and aquaculture government agencies and emphasized the need for further collaboration between human rights and fisheries-related stakeholders.