Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No. 112) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 1(1) of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that the Merchant Shipping Code applies to ships that carry on maritime navigation even if this is not their main activity. However, it draws the Government’s attention to section 12 of the Code, which defines a ship as “any vessel able to withstand the dangers of the sea and which carries on maritime navigation as its main activity …”. The Committee again asks the Government to indicate which laws or regulations apply to vessels that are excluded from the scope of the Merchant Shipping Code because they do not carry on maritime navigation as their main activity.

Article 2(1). Minimum age. The Committee notes that section 1 of Act No. 2004-017 of 6 July 2004 (the Labour Code) governs employment relationships between workers and employers in the maritime fishing sector, except where they are covered by specific provisions in the Merchant Shipping Code and its implementing regulations. It also notes that section 153(1) of the Labour Code sets the minimum age for admission to work at 14 years and that employment in the maritime fishing sector is excluded from the application of section 153(2) which provides that children aged 12 may, under certain conditions, be employed in establishments where members of their families work. The Committee further notes that the minimum age for admission to work in the maritime fishing sector is in fact governed by section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code which provides, as the Committee noted in its previous comments, that children under 15 years of age may not work on board vessels, except in the instances discussed below.

Article 2(3). Employment of children of 14 years of age. The Committee notes that under Order No. 467 of 11 August 1998 on age requirements for employment as a seafarer and officer on board Mauritanian vessels, is 17 years. The Committee requests the Government to indicate whether the Order applies to all persons employed on board fishing vessels including apprentices (“mousses” and “novices”) as defined in section 415 of the Merchant Shipping Code. The Committee again observes that, under section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code, the maritime authority may, in exceptional circumstances, allow the on-board employment of children under 14 years of age when such employment is in the child’s interest, provided that a seafarers’ doctor issues a physical fitness certificate. The Committee asks the Government to indicate whether this provision is still in force despite the adoption of Order No. 467 of 11 August 1998. If so, please provide copies of any rules, circulars or other instructions governing the exercise by the maritime authority of the powers conferred on it by section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code, and specimen copies of the permits issued by this authority.

Article 4. School-ships. The Committee asks the Government to specify the minimum age for admission to work on school-ships, and to provide a copy of the provisions requiring ships’ masters to exercise close supervision of the children and to ensure that they are employed only in duties that match their skills and are related to their occupation.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee asks the Government to provide information on the application of the Convention in practice, including, for instance, extracts of reports by the inspection services and, if possible, statistics on the number and nature of infringements reported.

Lastly, the Committee notes that the Government has not answered its previous comments concerning the action taken on the Governing Body’s decisions following the examination of the Convention by the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (document GB.279/LILS/3/(Rev.1) of November 2000). The Committee recalls that the Governing Body decided to invite States parties to Convention No. 112 to examine the possibility of ratifying the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). Ratification of Convention No. 138 by a State party to Convention No. 112 entails immediate denunciation of the latter if the State accepts the obligations of Convention No. 138 for maritime fishing and either sets a minimum age of 15 years in conformity with Article 2 of this Convention, or specifies that Article 3 (establishing a higher minimum age for hazardous work) of Convention No. 138 applies to maritime fishing. The Islamic Republic of Mauritania ratified Convention No. 138 on 3 December 2001, but has not declared that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applies to maritime fishing. Moreover, it established a minimum age for admission to work or employment of 14 years. Consequently, ratification of Convention No. 138 by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania did not entail denunciation of Convention No. 112. The Governing Body also invited States parties to Convention No. 112 to consider the conclusions of the Tripartite Meeting on Safety and Health in the Fishing Industry (Geneva, 13–17 December 1999), in consultation with the organizations of employers and workers concerned. According to these conclusions, the minimum age for admission to employment and work in maritime fishing should in no case be lower than 16 years, and this activity should be treated as hazardous for the purposes of Article 3 of Convention No. 138.

The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to indicate the measures taken or envisaged to follow up the decisions of the Governing Body.