Election of the Council - Parts I and II
At the Sixth Plenary Meeting, Parts I and II of the Council election were conducted. With 141 States voting, the number of votes required for election in Part I was 71. There were 10 candidates for 10 seats in this Part, and 10 were elected on the first ballot, as follows: Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States.
In Part II there were 11 candidates for 11 seats, and 11 were elected on the first ballot. With 141 States voting, the number of votes required for election in Part II was 71. The following States were elected: Argentina, China, Colombia, Egypt, India, Mexico, Netherlands, Nigeria, Norway, Saudi Arabia and Spain.
The President of the Assembly announced that election to the Council in the third part would be held on Tuesday, 29 September at 1430 hours.
The Diplomatic Conference on the Authentic Chinese Text of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (28 September to 1 October 1998) will begin at 1100 hours on 28 September.
The Executive Committee considered Agenda items 17, 18 and 20
Under Agenda Item 17
The Committee reviewed WP/84, presented by 37 Contracting States, members of ECAC and the European Community, and agreed to invite the Plenary to adopt a resolution calling on Contracting States (a) to accept universal and transparent assessments to be performed by ICAO; (b) to be ready to enter without delay into bilateral agreements with ICAO for the purpose of organizing assessment visits; and (c) to agree to provide appropriate funding, including the use of at least part of their surpluses, to the Safety Oversight Programme.
The Committee reviewed WP/112, presented by the ACI, on ways to improve airport safety oversight, and noted the views and suggestions contained therein.
WP/79, presented by IATA, which urged implementation of the programme put forward by the DGCA Conference on a Global Strategy for Safety Oversight and extension of the programme to air traffic services and airports, was reviewed and noted by the Committee.
The Committee reviewed and noted WP/90, presented by IFALPA, which examined the possibility of combining the many existing national accident and incident investigation authorities into a single regional accident and incident investigation system operating under the aegis of the ICAO Safety Oversight Programme.
The Committee also reviewed and noted WP/43, which presented the views of the International Transport Workers' Federation on the form that ICAO's further action on the subject of safety oversight should take.
WP/100, which presented suggestions by the Interstate Aviation Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States on measures aimed at improving regional flight safety, was reviewed and noted by the Committee. The Committee noted WP/s139 and 171, presented for information only by the Islamic Republic of Iran and by the Russian Federation and the United States of America respectively.
Under Agenda Item 18
The Executive Committee began with the main paper, WP/96, which presented the draft comprehensive action plan drawn up by the Air Navigation Commission and submitted to the Council. The Committee reviewed the report and noted the plan as set out in the Appendix to the paper.
The Committee reviewed three working papers presented by the Islamic Republic of Iran -WPs/135, 136 and 137 - and referred them to the Air Navigation Commission for detailed examination and report to the Council with a view to possible submission to the next session of the Accident Investigation Division.
The Committee reviewed WP/s 80 and 31, presented respectively by Spain and the United States of America, both dealing with the need for the development of guidance material (including possibly SARPS) for the proper treatment of victims and their families by Member States and their air carriers in the immediate aftermath of a civil aviation accident. The Delegations of Spain and the United States of America were asked to prepare for the Committee's consideration a single resolution, combining those presented in Appendix A to WP/s 80 and 31 and taking into account suggestions made in the course of the discussion.
The Committee noted WP/162, which had been presented for information only by ASECNA.
Under Agenda Item 20
The Executive Committee first examined WP/49, a report on financial and organizational aspects of the provision of air navigation services, and endorsed the Council's plan for future work on the subject. The Secretariat was asked, in its further work on the subject, to bear in mind the suggestion made by the Delegate of Iceland concerning possible use of Joint Financing to assist in the implementation of CNS/ATM.
The Committee reviewed WP/50, a report by the Council on a proposal for an international aeronautical fund. It noted the report and endorsed the Council's plans for continued work on the proposal. The Secretary General indicated that he would welcome further voluntary assistance of the type received over the past few months, with the objective of completing the study by the end of 1999.
WP/159, presented by the African Contracting States, called on the international community to ensure that ICAO takes appropriate actions to expedite the study on the establishment of an international aeronautical fund. The Committee noted the information presented in the paper and endorsed the conclusion in paragraph 9. In so doing, it noted a comment by the President of the Council that it was already ICAO policy to encourage States to work together - in groups such as ASECNA - on the management of their airspace.
Finally, the Committee examined WPs/75 and 77, presented by IATA, dealing respectively with CNS/ATM implementation and infrastructure commercialization. While noting the views expressed in WP/75, the Committee noted that it had already taken a position on WP/50, on the subject of a proposed international aeronautical fund. In so far as WP/77 was concerned, the Committee endorsed the views expressed therein.
This summary can be augmented by consulting the Assembly Agenda and therelated working papers.
For more information, please contact; Denis Chagnon, Public Information Officer, E-mail: [email protected]; Tel. + 1 (514) 954-8220
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