Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2005, published 95th ILC session (2006)

Minimum Age (Fishermen) Convention, 1959 (No. 112) - Mauritania (Ratification: 1963)

The Committee notes the Government’s report and the adoption of Act No. 95-009 of 31 January 1995 issuing the Merchant Shipping Code. It requests the Government to provide additional information on the following points.

Article 1, paragraph 1, of the Convention. Scope of application. The Committee notes that under section 12 of the Merchant Shipping Code, a vessel is considered to be any boat or ship capable of facing the dangers of the sea and principally engaged in maritime navigation, whatever the economic purpose of its use. It also notes that under section 4 of the same Code, maritime navigation most notably includes navigation for the purpose of fishing. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the legislation applicable to ships and boats that are engaged in maritime navigation but not principally.

Article 2, paragraph 3. Employment of children of 14 years of age. The Committee notes that under section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code, the maritime authority may authorize, in exceptional cases, the on-board employment of a child of 14 years of age when such employment is in the child’s interest, although this employment is subject to the presentation of a physical fitness certificate issued by a seafarers’ doctor. The Committee requests the Government to indicate the way in which it is ensured that due regard is given to the prospective as well as to the immediate benefit to the child of the employment proposed, as provided for in Article 2, paragraph 3, of the Convention. The Government is also invited to provide copies of any rules, circulars or other instructions governing the exercise by the maritime authority of the powers conferred on it by section 417 of the Merchant Shipping Code and to supply specimen copies of the authorization certificates issued by this authority.

Article 4. School-ships. The Committee requests that the Government indicate whether any particular provisions are applicable to work on school-ships.

Part V of the report form. The Committee requests that the Government give a general appreciation of the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, including, if possible, extracts from reports of the inspection services, statistics concerning the number and nature of the contraventions reported, etc.

The Committee also takes this opportunity to draw the Government’s attention to the decision that was taken by the Governing Body with regard to the Convention following the examination of the Convention by the Working Party on Policy regarding the Revision of Standards (GB.279/LILS/3(Rev.1) of November 2000).

The Governing Body decided to invite the States parties to the Convention to contemplate ratifying the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138). The ratification of Convention No. 138 by a State party to Convention No. 112 entails the immediate denunciation of the latter if this State accepts the obligations of Convention No. 138 for maritime fishing, and either sets, in accordance with Article 2 of Convention No. 138, a minimum age of at least 15 years, or specifies that Article 3 (setting a higher minimum age for hazardous work) of Convention No. 138 applies to maritime fishing.

The Islamic Republic of Mauritania ratified Convention No. 138 on 3 December 2001. It did not accept the obligations of this Convention for maritime fishing. Thus, it did not declare that Article 3 of Convention No. 138 applied to maritime fishing. Furthermore, it set the minimum age for admission to work or employment at 14 years. Consequently, the ratification of Convention No. 138 by the Islamic Republic of Mauritania did not entail the denunciation of Convention No. 112.

The Governing Body also invited the States parties to the Convention to take into consideration the conclusions of the Tripartite Meeting on Safety and Health in the Fishing Industry (Geneva, 13-17 December 1999), in consultation with the organizations of workers and employers concerned. According to these conclusions, the minimum age for admission to employment and work in the maritime fishing industry should in no case be lower than 16 years, and this activity should be considered a hazardous occupation within the meaning of Article 3 of Convention No. 138.

The Committee requests that the Government indicate the measures taken or envisaged to give effect to the decisions taken by the Governing Body. It draws the Government’s attention to the fact that its acceptance of the obligations of Convention No. 138 for maritime fishing and the formal declaration of the application of Article 3 thereof to this sector, would entail the denunciation, with immediate effect, of Convention No. 112.