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FOURTH ITEM ON THE AGENDA

Other questions

(a) Joint FAO/ILO/IMO Working Group on Fishermen's Training

(London, 12-16 January 1998 )

1. The Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) has proposed to the Director-General that, in keeping with a resolution adopted by the IMO's International Conference on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Fishing Vessel Personnel (STCW-F, June-July 1995), a joint FAO/ILO/IMO Working Group be established to review the Document for Guidance on Fishermen's Training and Certification: An international maritime training guide. The Guide was prepared by a similar Working Group and published by the IMO in 1988.⁽¹⁾ 

2. The Secretary-General has proposed that the Working Group should be composed, as was the case with the Working Group which prepared the original Document for Guidance, of two representatives each from the FAO and IMO and four representatives (two Employer and two Worker) from the ILO, and that it should meet in London from 12 to 16 January 1998, concurrently with the 29th Session of the IMO's Sub-Committee on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping. It would consider amendments to the Document for Guidance and possibly matters related to other STCW-F Conference resolutions.

3. The Director-General has responded favourably to the Secretary-General's proposals and informed the Secretary-General of the decision taken by the Governing Body at its 267th Session to include, in the programme of sectoral meetings for the 1998-99 biennium, a tripartite meeting on safety and health in the fishing industry which would, inter alia, assess what is agreed by a FAO/ILO/IMO Working Group.

4. At its 68th Session (28 May-6 June 1997), the IMO's Maritime Safety Committee agreed with the Secretary-General's proposals on the establishment, composition and dates for a Joint FAO/ILO/IMO Working Group on Fishermen's Training. The purpose will be to revise the existing training guide and prepare new guidelines and recommendations for the training and certification of personnel on board fishing vessels of 12 metres in length and over but less than 24 metres. It further decided that the Governments of Iceland and the Republic of Korea should represent IMO in the Working Group.

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

(a) authorize the holding of the Joint FAO/ILO/IMO Working Group on Fishermen's Training in London from 12 to 16 January 1998, with a composition of four ILO (two Employer and two Worker) representatives, two FAO representatives and two IMO representatives;

(b) request the Director-General to communicate its decision to the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and to the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization.

Geneva, 7 October 1997.

Point for decision: Paragraph 5.

1.  Approved for publication by the Governing Body at its 238th Session (November 1987). See GB.238/12/25, para. 63.