International Civil Aviation Day:
Towards global peace and development
Dr. Ruwantissa ABEYRATNE
International Civil Aviation Day falls on December 7 every year. It
was established in 1994 by the International Civil Aviation Organization
(ICAO) - an international body of the United Nations created on December
7,1944 which guides and regulates international civil aviation.
This recognition came through an Assembly Resolution adopted in 1994
to mark the 50th anniversary of the organization. ICAO, in 1996, with
the assistance of the Canadian government, succeeded in obtaining
international recognition for this day, when the United Nations General
Assembly by Resolution officially recognized December 7 as International
Civil Aviation Day and listed it as an official UN day. The purpose of
the global celebration is to generate and reinforce worldwide awareness
of the importance of international civil aviation in the social and
economic development of states, and of the role of ICAO in promoting the
safety, efficiency and regularity of international air transport.
International Civil Aviation Conference
From November 1 to December 7 1944, 52 nations assembled at the
International Civil Aviation Conference in Chicago, Illinois on the
invitation of President Roosevelt. The Conference was convened at the
last stages of World War II. President Roosevelt's invitation to the
nations of the world said: “I do not believe that the world of today can
afford to wait several years for its air communications.
“There is no reason why it should. As we begin to write a new chapter
in the fundamental law of the air, let us all remember that we are
engaged in a great attempt to build enduring institutions of peace.
These peace settlements cannot be endangered by petty considerations, or
weakened by groundless fears. Rather, with full recognition of the
sovereignty and juridical equality of all nations, let us work together
so that the air may be used by humanity, to serve humanity.”
The Chicago Conference resulted in the adoption of the Convention on
International Civil Aviation, which was signed on December 7, 1944. The
Preamble to the Convention carries the same message of peace enunciated
by President Roosevelt:
Chicago Convention
Whereas the future development of international civil aviation can
greatly help to create and preserve friendship and understanding among
the nations and peoples of the world, yet its abuse can become a threat
to the general security;
Whereas it is desirable to avoid friction and to promote that
cooperation between nations and peoples upon which the peace of the
world depends;
Therefore, the undersigned governments having agreed on certain
principles and arrangements in order that international civil aviation
may be developed in a safe and orderly manner and that international air
transport services may be established on the basis of equality of
opportunity and operated soundly and economically;
The Chicago Convention stands out as an international treaty carved
out in the early years of international comity after World War 2. Its
vision still endures. Sixty seven years after the historic treaty was
signed we can not only look back in pride at the development of air
transport and its contribution to the world, but we can also look
forward in the hope that generations to come will benefit from this
phenomenon of peace.
Civil aviation eschews war and conflict. In 1989 after Korean Air
flight 007 - a civilian flight - was shot down, the Chicago Convention
was given a new provision by the international community: It says: the
contracting states recognize that every state must refrain from
resorting to the use of weapons against civil aircraft in flight and
that, in case of interception, the lives of persons on board and the
safety of aircraft must not be endangered.
Global peace
There is at least one instance where ICAO has, outside its scope of
civil aviation, addressed issues of global peace. At its 17th Assembly
in 1970/71 the ICAO Assembly adopted a Resolution condemning Apartheid
in South Africa based on the Preamble to the Chicago Convention.
Aviation and peace are glued by the practice of diplomacy, which ICAO
has had to employ to resolve ongoing as well as potential disputes. From
the inception of regulated civil aviation in 1944, diplomacy has been
inextricable from policy making and dispute settlement in affairs of
aviation.
Varied and chronologically sequential instances where ICAO has been
requested by its Member States to address contentious issues relating to
civil aviation are reflective of the importance of political
considerations that underlie such disputes. Although political
contentions may exist between states, which is a natural corollary of
statecraft and international politics, it is not the purview of an
international organization to address political motivations of
individual states when considering issues referred to it or adjudicating
disputes between states. In this regard, the International Civil
Aviation Organization has tread a delicate line between diplomacy and
objectivity.
On July 27, 2011, a flight bringing first aid to famine stricken
Somalia landed in Mogadishu. It carried 10 tonnes of plumpy nuts enough
to offer 3,500 children suffering from starvation a respite from death.
The operation of relief flights, either by states or such bodies as the
United Nations, to alleviate human suffering in times of war, natural or
manmade catastrophe, is yet another area in which the role of civil
aviation is brought to bear in securing peace and security.
Humanitarian law
The earthquake which devastated the capital of Haiti and much of its
environs in January 2010, crippled the Haitian government and
infrastructure, rendering government authorities weak in the running of
the country. From an aeronautical perspective, this brought to bear
issues of sovereignty within the parameters of relief flights and
humanitarian law. Another devastation which was unique to the earthquake
was that although the only runway at the airport was undamaged, the rest
of the aviation infrastructure lay in a shambles.
The flow of the numerous relief flights that came into Haiti after
the fact was therefore managed with caution and diligence.
Open skies concept
Commercial aviation amounts to 6 percent of the world's gross
domestic product and provides 32 million jobs around the world. Airlines
of the world carried 2.2 billion persons in 2010. They have to ensure
that all on board are safe from terrorists in extreme circumstances and
unruly and disruptive passengers at the minimal level. This is indeed a
delicate balance.
The air transport industry is full of paradoxes. On the one hand, air
transport contributes 10 percent of the world GDP and employs
approximately 80 million people worldwide. Yet, over the decade
1999-2009 the industry lost $ 56 billion. Given that over that period
there were 20 billion passengers carried by air, the industry lost $ 2.8
per passenger on average.
The paradox is that despite, this long history of loss, Airbus
Industry forecasts that between 2009 and 2028 there will be a demand for
24,951 passenger and freighter aircraft worth USD 3.1 trillion, and
that, by 2028 there will be 32,000 aircraft in service compared with
15,750 in 2009.
Another paradox is the open skies concept. On the one hand,
progressive thinking favours liberalization of air transport through
open skies, which means that air transport must be treated like any
other business and should not have market access barriers. On the other
hand, airport capacity is finite and a massive injection of capacity
will be a severe drain on the process of slot-allocation.
Air transport has been, and continues to be, a complex business. It
follows therefore, that transactions related to this industry are indeed
complex and should be adaptable to modern exigencies. A survey of IATA
carried out in 2007 of over 600 companies from five countries reflects
that 63 percent confirmed that air transport networks are vital for
their investments and business. Thirty percent of those countries said
that any constraint placed on the air transport industry would make them
invest less.
Air transport plays an integral part in the tourism industry where 40
percent of international tourists travel by air. This fact underscores
the indispensability of air transport to the global economy on the one
hand and the resilience of the industry to resuscitate itself after slow
periods of growth followed by periods of losses.
This year's international civil aviation day has the theme
'Assistance and Cooperation for Globally Sustainable Air Transport'. The
message is that, if aviation is to continue contributing to the world,
it has to be globally sustainable. To be globally sustainable, aviation
has to address the strategic issues that affect air transport.
Currently, and arguably throughout the 21st century, along with new
issues that might emerge in air transport, there are three strategic
issues that will continue to apply to air transport: safety; security;
environmental protection and sustainable development of air transport.
These can be effectively addressed only if the key players in the
aviation industry i.e. the airlines; airports; air navigation services
providers; manufacturers; and the regulators work together.
So far, it has been a smooth ride and there is no reason for one to
believe otherwise for the future. |