2022 Theses Bachelor's

Fishy Business: How the Sustainable Fishery Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Guinea-Bissau Delays Fulfillment of Human Rights Obligations

Dittel, May Louise

With the European Union’s claim of promoting human rights in its policymaking, this author used the framework of a human rights-based approach to development to empirically assess how the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the European Union (EU) and Guinea-Bissau, a trade agreement in the fishery sector, is affecting human rights promotion locally. Specifically, the author focused on the rights to work, food, and development, viewed as most relevant in the socio-economic and political context of Guinea-Bissau. It was hypothesized that the way the SFPA is being implemented causes a delay in promoting these human rights.

Analyzing the terms of the SFPA in conjunction with catch data from Bissau-Guinean waters, complemented by relevant stakeholder insights, this paper shows competition between EU and Bissau-Guinean vessels, problematic overfishing of Guinea-Bissau’s EEZ, and an unfair distribution of revenues. The SFPA therefore has created an exploitative situation that harm Bissau-Guineans’ right to work and food as well as Guinea-Bissau’s right to development.