JOINT EVENT 16th JUNE - IMO/ILO/ICS/ITF SYMPOSIUM – “PROTECTING SEAFARERS AGAINST CRIMINALISATION: WHAT MORE CAN BE DONE?”
The criminalisation of seafarers has long been a significant concern for ICS and all those within the maritime sector. The recently agreed IMO/ILO Guidelines on Fair Treatment of Seafarers Detained in Connection with Alleged Crimes (the “Guidelines”) seeks to ensure the fair treatment of seafarers when they are detained on suspicion of committing a crime and that they are detained for no longer than necessary while awaiting investigations of alleged wrongdoing to be completed. It is generally recognised, however, that more needs to be done by the maritime sector to protect seafarers from such detentions and unfair criminalisation, starting with the need and to promote and publicise the Guidelines.
Accordingly, the IMO together with the ILO, ICS and ITF is holding a symposium on 16 June (two days before the commencement of the IMO Maritime Safety Committee meeting, MSC110, ) aimed at raising awareness of the increasing and concerning number of seafarer detention and criminalisation cases worldwide and provide a forum for governments, industry representatives and other stakeholders within the maritime sector to consider the scale of the problem, hear testimony from seafarers who have experienced prolonged and unjustified detention, learn about the Guidelines and consider what more can be done to protect seafarers.
The symposium will be held in-person with hybrid capabilities for remote participation. In-person attendance will be limited to representatives from Member States, observer organizations (intergovernmental and non-governmental) and the United Nations and its specialized agencies. It will also be live-streamed on the IMO’s YouTube channel and will be followed by a reception hosted by ICS and ITF at the IMO. A copy of IMO Circular Letter No. 4985 of 5 March, inviting participation at the Symposium is attached at Annex A. A flyer of the event is attached at Annex B and an agenda at Annex C.
More information can be found on the IMO website by following this link: Protecting seafarers against criminalization: what more can be done?
Members wishing to attend the symposium in-person should inform the ICS Secretariat in order to be registered as members of the ICS delegation. Comments and questions on any of the above may be addressed to legal@ics-shipping.org.
MLC(25)20 & LA(25)11 -Annex B – Protecting seafarers against criminalization flyer
MLC(25)20 & LA(25)11 -Annex C – Final Agenda Joint Event ICS ITF ILO IMO 16 June