standards on this issue, with full respect for human rights, and specifically the rights
of the Miskito people.
Inspections on land and at sea will be aimed at ensuring compliance with the full range
of labor obligations, with special consideration for the safety and health of workers
engaged in particularly hazardous activities. Inspections shall include, at a minimum,
aspects related to the prevention of accidents and illnesses, supervision of working
hours and remuneration of overtime, vacations and rest periods, measures to avoid
forced labor and other forms of contemporary slavery, anti-discrimination measures,
and measures to prevent work accidents, as well as to provide appropriate
compensation in case they occur.
C.2.4. Safe Fishing Certification Program
137.
In the friendly settlement agreement, the State agreed to the following:
Within two years from the signing of this agreement, the State, through its competent
institutions, will establish a Safe Fishing Certification Program, incorporating the fair
trade standards issued by the Latin American and Caribbean Network of Fair Trade
Small Producers and Workers (CLAC) and the Fairtrade International System, which
will be developed with the support of the Alliance for the Development of the Honduran
Mosquitia (ADMH).
The Program, operated by the State, will verify the conditions of fishing and
industrialization of marine products extracted through the practice of diving, and when
it is demonstrated that such exploitation was carried out in compliance with current
regulations and without risk to divers, it will issue a Safe Fishing Certification to the
vessel. The accreditation will be issued by DIGE-PESCA which, prior to granting said
certification, will confirm that it meets the current legal requirements, which shall be
accredited by the following institutions in order: Ministry of Health, Honduran Institute
of Vocational Training (INFOP), General Directorate of the Merchant Navy (DGMM),
Ministry of Labor and Social Security (STSS) and the DIGE-PESCA. The requirements
to be met will include: physical and mental health of the divers, divers’ assistants
(oarsmen in dug-out canoes) and personnel in general; safe diving course, maritime
safety and work skills. Their purpose is to ensure the right to integrity and the right to
life of all personnel engaged in dive fishing and to prevent future accidents at work.
Regarding the employers, the conditions of their vessels will be certified and supervised
to guarantee respect for the rights of their employees.
The associations of Miskito divers may challenge any certification that they consider
has been granted in contravention of the applicable norms, and for this action they will
not be required to demonstrate special legal status. The operation of this program shall
be subject to the strictest standards of transparency.
138. On this matter, the Court notes that the “Permanent Program for the Control and
Supervision of Dive Fishing” and the “Safe Fishing Certification Program” are aimed at
verifying a) the application of the regulations on underwater fishing, b) the employers’
compliance with their labor obligations, and c) the fishing and industrialization processes of
the products extracted. In this regard, the Court requires that, in addition to implementing
those plans, the State must adapt the fishing regulations, establishing the obligation of fishing
companies to adopt human rights policies, due diligence processes and processes to remedy
human rights violations, in consideration of the standards previously indicated in this
judgment (supra paras. 42 to 52). The Court further stipulates that the State must establish
that it is the responsibility of the companies to certify their vessels and to finance the official
oversight mechanisms.
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