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UN agency launches talks on new identification system for maritime workers

UN agency launches talks on new identification system for maritime workers

The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched negotiations on a new, more rigorous identification system for seafarers aimed at developing effective protection against terrorism, while at the same time ensuring the rights and freedoms of the world's 1.2 million maritime workers.

The United Nations International Labour Organization (ILO) has launched negotiations on a new, more rigorous identification system for seafarers aimed at developing effective protection against terrorism, while at the same time ensuring the rights and freedoms of the world's 1.2 million maritime workers.

The new security measures are being considered by government, worker and employer representatives of the Organization's 176 members at the annual International Labour Conference, which kicked off Tuesday in Geneva.

The maritime security measures, to be implemented as part of a new ILO convention, gained new impetus last week from a declaration by the summit of the Group of Eight most industrialized nations in Evian, France, which cited in its communiqué on transportation security the urgent need "to develop a secure, verifiable seafarer identity document at the International Labour Organization (ILO).” A model for such a document could be proposed for international use as early as June 2004.

“We are now living in a world where we have competing but legitimate interests in security, the movement of maritime commerce, the well-being of these professional maritime workers and the facilitation of their professional movement,” ILO Director-General Juan Somavia said. “Urgent measures are clearly needed in order to balance these legitimate interests.”

With the heightened concerns about port security, a new seafarers identity document would be a substantial contribution to international security, providing the most modern means available to help ensure that the identity of seafarers in ports, airports and aboard ships.

So far, there are no international mandatory specifications for international identity documents. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) issues guidance on the specifications for passports, visas and travel documents. It is currently developing specifications for a "smart" passport containing biometric information in RF-IC, a chip to be embedded in the travel documents.

The discussions at the ILO come in the wake of moves by the United States following the 11 September 2001 terror attacks. In passing the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, the US Congress took a first step toward protecting the global maritime community from threats of terrorism.

However, other countries envisage similar measures as a means to stem the tide of illegal immigration. The concern of the ILO is to ensure that the necessary balance is maintained between security interests and those relating to the well being of seafarers and the facilitation of maritime commerce.