On 26-28 November this year, the Joint ILO–IMO Tripartite Working Group held a meeting at the Headquarters of the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva, where it adopted the “Guidelines on the fair treatment of seafarers detained on suspicion of committing crimes”.
The purpose of the Guidelines is to ensure that seafarers detained on suspicion of committing a crime are treated fairly during any investigation and detention by public authorities.
The Guidelines emphasise that seafarers are key workers and need special protection given the global nature of the shipping industry and the different jurisdictions that seafarers may be brought into contact with.
Human rights, including the principle of presumption of innocence until proven guilty by a proper legal process, must be guaranteed for every seafarer. No seafarer, including the master, shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No seafarer, including the captain, shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest or detention. No one shall be deprived of his liberty except in accordance with the following grounds and in accordance with the law. No seafarer, including the captain, has been detained on suspicion of committing an alleged crime solely because of his status on shipboard.
Adoption of this Guideline is particularly important for the MTWTU, as it was our Trade Union that submitted the first document to the IMO Legal Committee in 2018, which emphasised that the problem of unjustified detention of seafarers and seafarers on suspicion of committing crimes, violation of seafarers' rights during such detentions needs to be solved immediately.
Oleg Grygoriuk, Chairman of the MTWTU, IMO Goodwill Maritime Ambassador in Ukraine, emphasises:
"No seafarer should be criminalized just for doing their job. No seafarer should be in a position where they cannot say for sure to their families when they will come back home. The uncertainty caused by this situation brings is a heavy burden both for seafarers and their families."
Over the past six years, the MTWTU, with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the ITF, has been preparing all the necessary documents to ensure the adoption of this Guideline. Representatives of the MTWTU constantly participated in the work of the IMO Legal Committee, correspondence and working groups on the preparation of the text of the draft Guidelines.
The MTWTU would like to express its sincere gratitude to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine and the Embassy of Ukraine in the United Kingdom for their constant support and assistance in representing the interests of Ukrainian seafarers at the IMO.
