Labor Code. These establish specific obligations for employers to ensure the hygiene, safety
and health of workers, the proper maintenance of diving equipment and boats, the provision
of first aid medical equipment, actions aimed at preventing occupational hazards and
promoting the good health of workers, and the obligation to monitor these conditions, which
is also the responsibility of the labor authorities.
C.2.2. Impairment of the right to just and satisfactory working conditions that
ensure the safety, health and hygiene of the worker in the specific case
76.
In the instant case, the State had the obligation to guarantee fair and satisfactory
working conditions in the terms described in the preceding paragraphs, and specifically in the
Labor Code and the Fishing Regulations, upon their entry into force. However, it is clear from
the facts acknowledged by the State that all the victims worked in precarious, unhealthy,
unsafe and overcrowded conditions, on board vessels that did not meet the safety standards
required for a hazardous activity, or the conditions that would help avoid or prevent
occupational accidents. The Court also notes that the divers did not receive training from their
employers on safety measures for underwater fishing, that the equipment they used was
substandard, that they did not receive adequate food on board the fishing boats, and that
they were threatened by the boat captains.
77.
All this occurred without the State complying with the regulations contained in Title V
of the Labor Code, or the international instruments ratified by Honduras with respect to the
protection of workers and, after 2001, the provisions specifically regulating underwater fishing
contained in the Fishing Regulations. The Court notes that the authorities failed in their duty
to monitor and oversee the working conditions of the victims in this case, and to take effective
steps to prevent accidents, despite the fact that dive fishing in La Mosquitia was an activity
that implied risks to workers. In this regard, the Court also observes that the Fishing
Regulations established a series of “General Provisions for health and safety on fishing
vessels,” including a requirement for owners to maintain their vessels “in good seaworthy
condition and suitably equipped for their destination and use” as well as the obligation of
captains to “adopt the necessary precautionary measures to maintain the stability of the
vessel.” 95
78.
In view of the foregoing, the State failed to fulfill its obligation to guarantee the right
to just, equitable and satisfactory working conditions that ensure the safety, health and
hygiene of the worker, since it failed to prevent occupational accidents and guarantee the
acceptability and quality of the work of the victims in this case. This failure is even more
significant if one considers the impact of the events in this case, which seriously affected the
lives and personal integrity of the divers who suffered diseases and disabilities as a result. In
the case of the child Licar Méndez Gutiérrez, he was allowed to carry out work which posed a
serious risk to his health and life. In this case, although Honduras fulfilled its duty to regulate
the work carried out by the victims through the Fishing Regulations and the Labor Code (supra
para. 57), it failed to effectively implement those regulations, and therefore to exercise control
and oversight over the working conditions, as a necessary measure to prevent accidents and
ensure the enjoyment of just and favorable working conditions. This, despite the fact that the
State is required to supervise such conditions, particularly when dangerous activities are
involved. Therefore, the State violated Article 26 of the American Convention, in relation to
Articles 1(1) and 2 of the same instrument.
C.3. Right to health and social security
95
Occupational Health and Safety Regulations for Underwater Fishing, Article 13.
27