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SIXTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Other questions

1. The Seventh Session of the Joint ILO/WHO Committee on the Health of Seafarers, which met in Geneva from 10 to 14 May 1993,⁽¹⁾ concluded, inter alia, that, as regards the issue of the harmonization of medical examination requirements for seafarers, fitness standards for seafarers vary widely. International guidance on pre-sea and periodic medical fitness examinations for seafarers was therefore desirable.

2. The Office has prepared a set of draft Guidelines for Conducting Pre-Sea and Periodic Medical Fitness Examinations for Seafarers. It is planned that the WHO will convene, in association with the ILO, a consultation to examine the draft guidelines, which have been prepared in collaboration with the WHO and in consultation with the International Maritime Organization. The consultation is planned to be held in Geneva from 25 to 27 November 1997 and the expected output is a consensus statement containing the agreed guidelines.⁽²⁾ The meeting will be composed of four ILO representatives (two shipowner and two seafarer) and four WHO representatives. The WHO will invite the IMO to participate.

3. The Committee on Sectoral and Technical Meetings and Related Issues may wish to recommend that the Governing Body --

(a) authorize the holding of the ILO/WHO Consultation on Guidelines for Conducting Pre-Sea and Periodic Medical Fitness Examinations for Seafarers with the composition and dates envisaged in paragraph 2;

(b) request the Director-General to communicate its decision to the Director-General of the World Health Organization.

Geneva, 3 March 1997.

Point for decision: Paragraph 3.

1. GB.258/STM/3/4.

2. ILO and WHO held a similar consultation on the issue of AIDS and seafarers in 1989. The output was a Consensus Statement from the Consultation on AIDS and Seafarers.