Chapter IV. Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the United Nations and related intergovernmental organizations

TreATies CONCerNiNg iNTerNATiONAL LAw CONCLUded UNder The AUsPiCes OF The UNiTed NATiONs ANd reLATed iNTergOverNmeNTAL OrgANizATiONs

1. Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of the United Nations

   [No treaty concerning international law was concluded under the auspices of the United Nations in 2007 ]

2. Treaties concerning international law concluded under the auspices of intergovernmental organizations related to the United Nations

   1. international Labour Organization

      Work in Fishing Convention Geneva, 14 June 2007*

      The General Conference of the International Labour Organization,

      Having been convened at Geneva by the Governing Body of the International Labour Office, and having met in its ninety-sixth Session on 30 May 2007, and

      Recognizing that globalization has a profound impact on the fishing sector, and

      Noting the ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, 1998, and

      Taking into consideration the fundamental rights to be found in the following international labour Conventions: the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No 29), the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No 87), the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No 98), the Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951 (No 100), the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No 105), the Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No 111), the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No 138), and the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No 182), and

      Noting the relevant instruments of the International Labour Organization, in particular the Occupational Safety and Health Convention (No 155) and Recommendation (No 164), 1981, and the Occupational Health Services Convention (No 161) and Recommendation (No 171), 1985, and

      * Adopted by the International Labour Conference at its 96th session

      Noting, in addition, the Social Security (Minimum Standards) Convention, 1952 (No 102), and considering that the provisions of Article 77 of that Convention should not be an obstacle to protection extended by Members to fishers under social security schemes, and

      Recognizing that the International Labour Organization considers fishing as a hazardous occupation when compared to other occupations, and

      Noting also Article 1, paragraph 3, of the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No 185), and

      Mindful of the core mandate of the Organization, which is to promote decent conditions of work, and

      Mindful of the need to protect and promote the rights of fishers in this regard, and

      Recalling the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, 1982, and

      Taking into account the need to revise the following international Conventions adopted by the International Labour Conference specifically concerning the fishing sector, namely the Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No 112), the Medical Examination (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No 113), the Fishermen’s Articles of Agreement Convention, 1959 (No 114), and the Accommodation of Crews (Fishermen) Convention, 1966 (No 126), to bring them up to date and to reach a greater number of the world’s fishers, particularly those working on board smaller vessels, and

      Noting that the objective of this Convention is to ensure that fishers have decent conditions of work on board fishing vessels with regard to minimum requirements for work on board; conditions of service; accommodation and food; occupational safety and health protection; medical care and social security, and

      Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to work in the fishing sector, which is the fourth item on the agenda of the session, and

      Having determined that these proposals shall take the form of an international Convention;

      adopts this fourteenth day of June of the year two thousand and seven the following Convention, which may be cited as the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007

      Part I Definitions and scope

      Definitions

      Article 1

      For the purposes of the Convention:

      (a) commercial fishing means all fishing operations, including fishing operations on rivers, lakes or canals, with the exception of subsistence fishing and recreational fishing;

      (b) competent authority means the minister, government department or other authority having power to issue and enforce regulations, orders or other instructions having the force of law in respect of the subject matter of the provision concerned;

      (c) consultation means consultation by the competent authority with the representative organizations of employers and workers concerned, and in particular the representative organizations of fishing vessel owners and fishers, where they exist;

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      (d) fishing vessel owner means the owner of the fishing vessel or any other organization or person, such as the manager, agent or bareboat charterer, who has assumed the responsibility for the operation of the vessel from the owner and who, on assuming such responsibility, has agreed to take over the duties and responsibilities imposed on fishing vessel owners in accordance with the Convention, regardless of whether any other organization or person fulfils certain of the duties or responsibilities on behalf of the fishing vessel owner;

      (e) fisher means every person employed or engaged in any capacity or carrying out an occupation on board any fishing vessel, including persons working on board who are paid on the basis of a share of the catch but excluding pilots, naval personnel, other persons in the permanent service of a government, shore-based persons carrying out work aboard a fishing vessel and fisheries observers;

      (f) fisher’s work agreement means a contract of employment, articles of agreement or other similar arrangements, or any other contract governing a fisher’s living and working conditions on board a vessel;

      (g) fishing vessel or vessel means any ship or boat, of any nature whatsoever, irrespective of the form of ownership, used or intended to be used for the purpose of commercial fishing;

      (h) gross tonnage means the gross tonnage calculated in accordance with the tonnage measurement regulations contained in Annex I to the International Convention on Tonnage Measurement of Ships, 1969, or any instrument amending or replacing it;

      (i) length (L) shall be taken as 96 per cent of the total length on a waterline at 85 per cent of the least moulded depth measured from the keel line, or as the length from the foreside of the stem to the axis of the rudder stock on that waterline, if that be greater In vessels designed with rake of keel, the waterline on which this length is measured shall be parallel to the designed waterline;

      (j) length overall (LOA) shall be taken as the distance in a straight line parallel to the designed waterline between the foremost point of the bow and the aftermost point of the stern;

      (k) recruitment and placement service means any person, company, institution, agency or other organization, in the public or the private sector, which is engaged in recruiting fishers on behalf of, or placing fishers with, fishing vessel owners;

      (1) skipper means the fisher having command of a fishing vessel

      Scope

      Article 2

      1 Except as otherwise provided herein, this Convention applies to all fishers and all fishing vessels engaged in commercial fishing operations

      2 In the event of doubt as to whether a vessel is engaged in commercial fishing, the question shall be determined by the competent authority after consultation

      3 Any Member, after consultation, may extend, in whole or in part, to fishers working on smaller vessels the protection provided in this Convention for fishers working on vessels of 24 metres in length and over

      Article 3

      1 Where the application of the Convention raises special problems of a substantial nature in the light of the particular conditions of service of the fishers or of the fishing vessels’ operations concerned, a Member may, after consultation, exclude from the requirements of this Convention, or from certain of its provisions:

      (a) fishing vessels engaged in fishing operations in rivers, lakes or canals;

      (b) limited categories of fishers or fishing vessels

      2 In case of exclusions under the preceding paragraph, and where practicable, the competent authority shall take measures, as appropriate, to extend progressively the requirements under this Convention to the categories of fishers and fishing vessels concerned

      3 Each Member which ratifies this Convention shall:

      (a) in its first report on the application of this Convention submitted under article 22 of the Constitution of the International Labour Organisation:

      (i) list any categories of fishers or fishing vessels excluded under paragraph 1;

      (ii) give the reasons for any such exclusions, stating the respective positions of the representative organizations of employers and workers concerned, in particular the representative organizations of fishing vessel owners and fishers, where they exist; and

      (iii) describe any measures taken to provide equivalent protection to the excluded categories; and

      (b) in subsequent reports on the application of the Convention, describe any measures taken in accordance with paragraph 2

      Article 4

      1 Where it is not immediately possible for a Member to implement all of the measures provided for in this Convention owing to special problems of a substantial nature in the light of insufficiently developed infrastructure or institutions, the Member may, in accordance with a plan drawn up in consultation, progressively implement all or some of the following provisions:

      (a) Article 10, paragraph 1;

      (b) Article 10, paragraph 3, in so far as it applies to vessels remaining at sea for more than three days;

      (c) Article 15;

      (d) Article 20;

      (e) Article 33; and

      (f) Article 38

      2 Paragraph 1 does not apply to fishing vessels which:

      (a) are 24 metres in length and over; or

      (b) remain at sea for more than seven days; or

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      (c) normally navigate at a distance exceeding...