How to implement obligations under the Law of the Sea to prevent illegal maritime transfers to Israel?
Law for Palestine and ASCOMARE have released a set of Operational Guidelines designed to assist States in fulfilling their obligations under the Law of the Sea regime with respect to the maritime transport of military materiel and dual-use items to countries that commit or plausibly commit genocide, apartheid, or other violations of peremptory norms. The guidelines, developed in response to a request by the Palestinian BDS National Committee, accompanied by an operational template for port authorities, serve as a practical tool to help States translate their legal duties into concrete operational measures that prevent their territory, waters, and flagged vessels from being used to facilitate such transfers.
Annex 1: Operational Guideline – click here to read/download
The guidelines operationalise the findings of ASCOMARE’s Legal Opinion of 11 March 2025, which concluded that coastal and port States are obligated to take action where vessels are complicit in violations of human rights or peremptory norms, including by denying docking rights and passage through their territorial waters, or detaining the vessel and/or its cargo. Flag States must prevent their vessels from facilitating such violations or risk incurring international responsibility.
They set out detailed requirements for port, coastal, and flag States – including due-diligence obligations, risk-assessment methodologies, requests for information, and inspection and enforcement procedures – providing States with a clear and actionable framework to ensure compliance with international law.
(Annex 2: Operational Template (click here to read/download)
