(Photo courtesy US Coast Guard)HONOLULU - A human rights complaint has been filed with an international commission to investigate claims of human rights violations against Thais and other Southeast Asians in Hawaii's commercial fishing industry. Turtle Island Restoration Network told The Associated Press on Wednesday that they filed the complaint last week with the Inter-American Human Rights Commission. The filing asks the panel to determine the responsibility of the US for human rights abuses against foreign workers in Hawaii's longline fishing fleet. The Inter-American Human Rights Commission is an autonomous body of the Organisation of American States, which works to protect human rights in the hemisphere. In written testimony submitted during legislative hearings, Jim Cook and Sean Martin of the Hawaii Longline Association argued that foreign fishermen "possess legal standing and have legal recourse."

Source: Bangkok Post July 20, 2017 21:22 UTC