International Observer Bill of Rights and Codes of Conduct for Responsible Observer Programmes

The Observer Bill of Rights (OBR) was first drafted in 2000 during the 2nd Conference in the International Fisheries Observer and Monitoring Conference (IFOMC) series held in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. This was the first step towards building a plan to improve and strengthen the retention of experienced professional fisheries observers, establishing minimum desirable requirements to deploy observers and other issues. However, implementing the issues outlined in the OBR remained vague. Observer programs are rapidly developing as many nations face depleted fisheries and other ocean resources, requiring increased monitoring.

In this context, we contend that observer rights, health, safety and welfare must not be overlooked as monitoring efforts expand. The current version, the International Observer Bill of Rights (IOBR) widens the scope to observers worldwide and includes associated Code of Conduct for Responsible Observer Programme documents. The IOBR outlines basic observer rights. CCROP-HS outlines minimum health standards for observers and CCROP-SR outlines responsibilities of various stakeholders for implementing the IOBR. The intent of these documents is to ensure that the increasing corps of observers internationally are provided with certain basic fair and amiable employment standards throughout their careers as observers.

These are living documents and will be updated biennially as programmes evolve. They will be presented in association with the IFOMC series. Feedback from all stakeholders is essential to its successful implementation.

• International Observer Bill of Rights (IOBR)
• Codes of Conduct for Responsible Observer Programmes – Stakeholder Responsibilities (CCROP-SR)
• Code of Conduct for Responsible Observer Programmes – Health and Safety (CCROP-HS)