slipping through the net · –to address a gap in labour standards for fishers (fishers excluded...
TRANSCRIPT
Slipping Through the Net:IUU Fishing and Exploited Fishers in
Southeast Asia
NUS - APCEL CIL Seminar
3 May 2019, Singapore
Mi Zhou, ILO Jakarta
Today…
1. What is the ILO?
2. IUU fishing and trafficking for forced labour: what is
the problem?
3. The context, vulnerabilities, and challenges
4. The Southeast Asian Forum to End Trafficking in
Persons and Forced Labour of Fishers [The SEA
Forum for Fishers]
About the International Labour Organization
Founded in 1919: lasting peace can be established only if
it is based on social justice.
A UN specialized agency since 1946.
About the ILO
The only tripartite UN agency which brings together:
Workers
Government
Employers
Promote decent work
Slavery
Forced Labour
Human Trafficking
Exploitation
Decent work
[safe labour migration]
Decent work = employment in conditions of
freedom, equity, human security and dignity.
Role of the ILO
Set labour standards, develop policies, devise
programmes to promote decent work for all men and
women.
Conventions: binding legal instruments
Recommendations: guidance
Guidelines and other tools: more practical
Fundamental principles and rights at work
Covered by 8 fundamental Conventions
Fundamental principles & rights at
work
Forced Labour
Discrimination
Child labour
Freedom of Association
Collective Bargaining
Two key ILO instruments
Also Working in Fishing Recommendation, 2007 (No. 199)
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour
Convention,1930 (No. 29)
The problem
Trafficking & exploitation
of fishers
Forced Labour
IUU Fishing
Transhipment (practices of the fishing industry)
Fisheries crimes
(related to fishing
operation)
Human trafficking
The problem…
The
fishing
business(FAO data)
The fishing business
High seas fishing fleet by flag State and gears (GFW: 2016)
(Infographics by Financial Times: 2018)
The fishers (and fish farmers)(FAO data)
Asia is an important region
for the fishing sector
• 84% the world’s workers
in fisheries and aquaculture
were located in Asia in
2014
In 2016, 79% of the
world’s fishers
were from Asia.
IUU Fishing (FAO definition)
Illegal
- In contravention of State laws and regulations
- In contravention of RFMO measures or applicable international law
Unreported
- Not reported or misreported catch to national authorities or to RFMOs
Unregulated
- Fishing by vessels without nationality or not flying a party-flag to RFMOs, in a manner that contravenes RFMO measures
- Where no applicable conservation measures in place, activities inconsistent with State obligations for conservation of living marine resources under international law.
Global modern slavery: 2016 snapshot
Global modern slavery: 2016 snapshot
"all work or service
which is exacted
from any person
under the threat of
a penalty and for
which the person
has not offered
himself or herself
voluntarily.“ (C029)
Global modern slavery: 2016 snapshot
At any given time, some
16 million people are
victims of forced labour
exploitation in the private
sector (not including sexual
exploitation).
On average, they are held
20.5 months before
escaping or being freed.
11.3% are in fishing
and agriculture
(1.8 million people)
Global modern slavery: 2016 snapshot
The rate of modern slavery is second-highest in the Asia-Pacific region:
6.1 victims for every
1,000 people.
Africa is the highest at 7.6.
Europe and Central Asia: 3.9
Arab States: 3.3
Americas: 1.9
Human trafficking: snapshot
Human trafficking for forced labour: male dominated
Trafficking for forced labour:
• Men account for 63% of all detected victims.
• Significant variations regionally
Human trafficking - purposes
Victims of trafficking for forced labour detected in fishing industry in
Southeast Asia and Africa.
The problem
Forced Labour
Annual Profits
$150 Billion
IUU Fishing
Annual Cost
$23 Billion
$
IUU Fishing / Trafficking for Forced Labour in
Fisheries: Two conceptual relationships (conservation centered)
TIP for
Forced
Labour as a
an associated
crime
IUU Fishing / Trafficking for Forced Labour in Fisheries: Two conceptual relationships (worker centered)
… and practices of the industry (e.g. transhipment)
as enabling/contributing
TIP for forced labour of fishers (and workers)
Fishers & Migrant fishers: areas of vulnerability
Recruitment & placement
Working & living conditions
Human trafficking
Trafficking for forced labour in fisheries
Trafficking for forced labour in fisheries
Trafficking for forced labour in fisheries
Examples …“Benjina”,
Indonesia
(rescue of fishers
in 2015)
Fishers: Myanmar,
Cambodia,
Philippines
– Images publicly
available from AP
Fuh Sheng 11 (2018)
Taiwan,
Detained in South
Africa under C188,
Indonesian fishers –
images publicly available
online
– To address a gap in labour standards for fishers
(fishers excluded from MLC 2006)
– Address the specific nature of working in fishing:
working and living.
– Objective: to ensure fishers have decent conditions.
– Applies to all fishers and all fishing vessels engaged in
commercial fishing operations.
Issues covered by C188
– Responsibilities of fishing vessel owners, skippers, and fishers
– Minimum age
– Medical examination
– Manning and hours of rest
– Crew list
– Fisher’s work agreement
– Repatriation
– Recruitment and placement
– Payment
– Accommodation and food
– OSH and accident prevention
– Social security
– Protection in case of work-related sickness, injury or death
– Compliance and enforcement
Flexibility clauses
– Possible flexibility on:
Exclusion (Article 3)
Progressive implementation (Article 4)
Substantially equivalent values for size of vessel
Accommodation requirements for new vessels
Less stringent requirements for smaller vessels
All subject to tripartite consultation.
Recent ILO publication: The flexibility clauses of the Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (No. 188) [Working paper No. 315]
Compliance and enforcement of C188
– Flag State control: flag State must exercise its
jurisdiction and control over vessels
– Port State Control
– Effective systems for inspection
– Valid documentation
– Complaints procedure
Flag State guidelines
– Flag State inspection
systems for the fishing
sector
– On board inspections of
working and living
conditions on fishing
vessels
– Actions to be taken if
deficiencies are identified
Port State guidelines
Focuses on inspecting foreign-
flagged vessels
Port State can
– Take ‘measures necessary to
rectify’ conditions which are
‘clearly hazardous to safety or
health’.
– Should inform flag State.
– Should not ‘unreasonably detain
or delay the vessel’.
Protocol of 2014 to the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29)
The proposal = cooperationTo be more than the sum of its parts
Regional coordination to combat human trafficking, labour
exploitation and slavery at sea in Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian Forum to End Trafficking in Persons and Force Labour of Fishers
SEA Forum for Fishersas agreed by the SEA Conference
Fishers/Workers’
organizations
Market States
& Neighbours
Employers
Inter-national &
regional
orgs
CSOs
Private Sector
Govern-ments
SEA Forum for Fishers
Members and
technical advisors
from across a
range of
institutions.
SEA Forum for Fishersas agreed by the SEA Conference (Nov 2018)
Resources
SEA Fisheries Project Website, particularly pages SEA
Forum for Fishers and Knowledge Platform.
Knowledge sharing platform
www.seafisheriesproject.org
