UN wants tighter security for planes, airports
THE UNITED Nations Security Council unanimously approved a resolution yesterday calling for stepped-up screening and security checks at airports worldwide to “detect and deter terrorist attacks” on civil aviation.
The resolution calls on all countries to tighten security at airport buildings, share information about possible threats, and provide advance passenger lists to national authorities “to detect ... attempted entry into or transit through their territories.”
It is the first resolution by the UN’s most powerful body solely focused on aviation security, an issue of growing international concern following attacks on airplanes and airports from Ukraine and Egypt to Brussels and Istanbul.
The British-drafted resolution expresses the council’s concern “that terrorist groups continue to view civil aviation as an attractive target, with the aim of causing substantial loss of life, economic damage” and air links between countries.
Fang Liu, secretary general of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), told the council before the vote that there are currently over 100,000 daily flights carrying 10 million travellers, which adds up to 3.5 billion passengers per year plus “onethird of the world’s trade by value” carried by planes.
UNLAWFUL INTERFERENCE
She stressed that “the worldwide airtransport network will double its volume of flights and passengers by 2030”, which makes the protection of civil aviation from “acts of unlawful interference” one of the ICAO’s highest priorities.
Deadly suicide bombings this year at airports in Brussels and Istanbul are “a tragic reminder of the enormous challenges faces in security public areas, the inseparability of aviation security and national security, and of the significant socio-economic consequences of terrorism,” Liu said.
Following those attacks, she said the ICAO developed new proposals aimed at enhancing security at airport facilities expected to be adopted by the agency’s governing council at a meeting in November. From 2017-19, ICAO will be developing a new Global Aviation Security Plan and among its goals are to provide greater technical assistance to countries and “accelerate the development of human resources”.
While implementation of current aviation security standards are steadily improving both globally and regionally, Liu ticked off a list of threats that need urgent attention.
They include small weapons carried by passengers, home-made bombs concealed in baggage and cargo, shoulderfired ground-to-air missiles, security on the ground, cybersecurity, drones and insider threats.