Strategic Objective — Security and Facilitation — Developments pertaining to Annex 9

Developments pertaining to Annex 9 — Facilitation

Amendment 25 to Annex 9 became effective in October. This Amendment relates to, inter alia, assistance to aircraft accident victims and their families, Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs), cargo facilitation and INTERPOL’s Stolen and Lost Travel Documents (SLTD) database.

ICAO, jointly with the World Customs Organization (WCO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA), endorsed guidelines on both Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) data. This information may be found here.

Following the adoption of UN Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) that, inter alia, calls upon Member States to use API to prevent travel by Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTFs), ICAO enhanced cooperation with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) on API- and PNR-related matters.

A new manual entitled Model National Air Transport Facilitation Programmes (NATFP) (Doc 10042) was published in 2015. This manual contains guidance on how States may comply with Standards 8.17, 8.18 and 8.19 of Annex 9.

Standard 3.10.1* of Annex 9 was introduced in 2011 and required Member States to ensure the expiration of non-machine readable passports by 24 November 2015. In light of this, the Secretariat undertook an intensive communications campaign to remind States of the “deadline” included in the Standard, and to encourage them to respond to State letter EC6/3-12/70, Implementation of Standard 3.10.1 of Annex 9 ─ Facilitation. This communications campaign involved the following elements:

a)	posting of guidance material on Standard 3.10.1 implementation challenges and practices on the ICAO MRTD website;
b)	requesting partner organizations to spread the message through their websites;
c)	publishing articles in the MRTD Report;
d)	creating a dedicated webpage on the ICAO MRTD website;
e)	drafting an article that will be published in an upcoming edition of the ICAO Journal;
f)	highlighting the urgency of this deadline through presentations at different events and meetings; and
g)	issuing a dedicated ICAO News Release on 17 November 2015.

As at 31 December 2015, formal responses to the State letter indicated that 140 Member States had complied with the Standard by the deadline, with a further 16 States indicating compliance after the deadline had passed.

During the joint meeting of the Air Transport Committee (ATC) and the Committee on Unlawful Interference (UIC) held in November, it was recalled that currently only the security-related Standards and communicable disease processes contained in Annex 9 were audited under the Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP) and the Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP), respectively. Consequently, a State letter was sent in December 2015 encouraging States to complete the Annex 9 online compliance checklist by March 2016 and drawing attention to Doc 10042. If necessary, a report on the outcome of this exercise will be made to the ATC and the UIC, through the relevant panels, during the 208th Session of the Council in May/June 2016.

A Regional Facilitation Seminar was held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 23-26 March with the objective of updating governments on developments in ICAO’s FAL Programme and focussing on future initiatives and issues of contemporary interest to States. These include compliance/implementation issues related to Annex 9; API and PNR data exchange programmes; inadmissible persons and deportees; and access to air transport by persons with disabilities.

The Facilitation Section continued to work actively with several partner Organizations, including IATA, WCO, the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), to assist States in implementing all facilitation Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and specifications which are directly related to the achievement of six of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

*As of the publication, in October 2015, of the 14th Edition of Annex 9, incorporating Amendment 25, the numbering of this Standard changed to 3.11.1.