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Accommodation of Crews Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 92) - Iraq (RATIFICATION: 1977)

Article 3 of the Convention. Crew accommodation on board. Further to its previous comment, the Committee notes the Government’s renewed reference to section 70 of the Maritime Civil Act No. 201 of 1975 which deals with the accommodation of seafarers and officers on board publicly-owned vessels in very general terms. It also notes the Government’s statement that amendments to the Maritime Civil Service Act may be considered as soon as possible in order to implement the requirements of the Convention. The Committee is obliged to recall, in this regard, that section 70 of the Act does not suffice to ensure compliance with the detailed technical standards set out in the Convention and that specific laws or regulations need to be adopted to give effect to the provisions among others concerning construction and design (Article 6); ventilation (Article 7); heating (Article 8); lighting (Article 9); sleeping rooms (Article 10); mess rooms (Article 11); recreational facilities (Article 12); sanitary accommodation (Article 13); and hospital accommodation (Article 14). While noting that the Government has recently launched a programme for the rebuilding of a merchant fleet and also noting that a draft Maritime Authority Act has been approved for the development of the maritime sector, the Committee requests the Government to indicate any concrete measures taken or envisaged with a view to regulating crew accommodation on board ships in accordance with the requirements of the Convention.

Finally, the Committee recalls that most of the provisions of this Convention have been consolidated in Regulation 3.1, Standard A3.1 and Guideline B3.1 of the Maritime Labour Convention, 2006 (MLC, 2006), and therefore ensuring compliance with Convention No. 92 will facilitate the implementation of the corresponding requirements of the MLC, 2006. The Committee accordingly invites the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying the MLC, 2006 in the very near future and to keep the Office informed of any decision taken in this respect.