Second Regional Meeting on the Protection of Migrant Fishers: ASEAN Review of ‘Guidelines on Flag State Inspection of Working and Living Conditions on Board Fishing Vessels

A second regional meeting on work in fishing, focusing on the protection of migrant fishers, is convened in 2015 to further discuss more detailed cooperation; to present the international standards and instruments on work in fishing, share national policy and legislative developments, and procedures related to flag State and port State controls; and to provide inputs from the region to the development of the draft Guidelines on Flag State Inspection of Working and Living Conditions on Board Fishing Vessels on implementation of Convention 188.

To facilitate the effective implementation of Convention 188, the ILO will put in place a system of flag and port State control inspection of working and living conditions on fishing vessels. Port-state controls were adopted in 2011 , and in September 2015, a Meeting of Experts to Adopt Flag State Guidelines for the Implementation of the Work in Fishing Convention will be convened in Geneva. These Guidelines will assist States and others to effectively exercise their jurisdiction and control over vessels that fly their flag by establishing a system for ensuring compliance with the requirements of the Convention.

In September 2013, the ILO and the Indonesian Government organized a Regional Meeting on Work in Fishing: Increased Knowledge Base and Sharing Good Practices for the Protection of Migrant Workers. Participants from around Southeast Asia discussed international standards on work in fishing, shared national policy and legislative frameworks, and shared experiences on the protection of migrant fishers in this sector in the region and around the world.