Geneva, June 12, 2026. The Minister of Labour and Social Security, Jesus Otamendiz López, today formally deposited Cuba's instrument of ratification of the Maritime Labour Convention with the Director-General of the International Labour Organization (ILO).
The Convention, also known as the Seafarers' Bill of Rights, was adopted by the ILO in 2006 and entered into force in 2013. It consolidates more than 70 separate international standards into a single text.
This instrument establishes the labour rights of seafarers. Ninety percent of world trade is carried out via maritime transport, which employs more than 1.5 million seafarers for the operation of ships worldwide.
This Convention is of great importance to our country, given Cuba's island status and its geographical location in the Caribbean Sea, with its proximity to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and its open economy.
Over the past 20 years, the Maritime Labour Convention has become a cornerstone of the global protection of seafarers' rights.
With this ratification, Cuba now has 91 ILO Conventions. Cuba is one of the nations in the world with the most ratified ILO instruments, reflecting the country's firm commitment to protecting workers' rights.
