Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention. Readmission to territory and right to enter territory. The Committee understands that there is no specific legislation or regulation implementing these requirements of the Convention. It recalls that, under the Convention, the seafarer’s identity document is the sole document needed for the seafarer to enter the territory of another State Party to the Convention and to return to the issuing State even after expiry. These principles of free admission to a territory (for purposes of shore leave) and right of return are not self-executing, but require specific measures by the competent authority for their implementation. The Committee accordingly requests the Government to take the necessary measures in order to fully implement the requirements of Articles 5 and 6 of the Convention, both in law and practice.

Part V of the report form. Practical application. The Committee requests the Government to supply up-to-date information on the practical application of the Convention including, for instance, statistical information on the number of seafarers’ identity documents issued during the reporting period, extracts from reports of the services entrusted with the enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations and any difficulties encountered in the application of the Convention.

The Committee also takes the opportunity to recall that the Convention has been revised by the Seafarers’ Identity Documents Convention (Revised), 2003 (No. 185), which was adopted by the ILO to enhance port and border security, while at the same time facilitating the seafarers’ right to shore leave, by developing a more secure and globally uniform seafarers’ identity document. In fact, Convention No. 185 complements actions taken within the framework of the  International Maritime Organization (IMO) through the adoption of the International Ship and Port-facility Security Code (ISPS), sets out basic parameters regarding the content and form of the documents, and provides technical guidance in the annexes in order to ensure that Members may easily adapt their systems while taking national circumstances into account. In this respect, the Committee wishes to refer to the summary of consensus achieved at the consultative meeting on Convention No. 185, held in Geneva on
23–24 September 2010, according to which “further ratifications and recognition of the seafarers’ identity document (SID) to facilitate shore leave are urgently needed, especially among port States” (see CSID/C.185/2010/4, p. 17). The Committee therefore invites the Government to consider the possibility of ratifying Convention No. 185 in the near future and to keep the Office informed of any decisions taken in this respect.