MONTRÉAL, 23 July 2014 – The Council President of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, expressed his Organization’s appreciation for the adoption of the UN Security Council Resolution on Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, and reiterated the strong condemnation of the action which resulted in the loss of the flight’s civilian passengers and crew.
Security Council Resolution 2166 deplored the downing of a civilian aircraft on an international flight and reaffirmed the rules of international law that prohibit acts of violence that pose a threat to the safety of international civil aviation. It also stressed the crucial role played by ICAO in aircraft accident and incident investigations.
“ICAO has been strongly encouraged by the level of support for our global role which is reflected in Security Council Resolution 2166,” Aliu said. “The use of weapons against international civil aviation absolutely cannot be tolerated and we stand closely alongside Malaysian officials as they continue to deal with the aftermath of this tragedy.”
Two of ICAO’s three experts assisting with the MH17 investigation accompanied Malaysian officials and the aircraft’s voice and flight data recorders to Farnborough, UK, while the third continued to provide advice and expertise to accident investigation team officials based in Kiev. ICAO’s officials confirmed that the team in Farnborough has verified that the cockpit voice recorder (CVR) is in good condition and that the digital flight data recorder (DFDR) is still under review.
ICAO is also consulting with IATA and regional aviation organizations on the respective roles of states, airlines and international organizations for assessing the risk of airspace affected by armed conflict.
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UN Security Council Resolution (S/RES/2166)
