Between 27 October and 12 November 2014 the second phase of 203rd Session of the ICAO Council the so-called Council Phase was held. The meetings were attended by the Representative of the Republic of Poland on the ICAO Council, Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska.
On 27 October an EU coordination meeting and the informal briefing of the members of the Council was held in order to inform on the developments on the global flight tracking system and on risks to civil aviation arising from conflict zones. The presentation was conducted by the Air Navigation Bureau Director Mrs. Nancy Graham and President of the Air Navigation Commission Mr. Farid Zizi outlined the current activities of the IATA and ICAO working group related to tracing flight paths including proposals concerning flight recorders, Global Aeronautical Distress and Safety System (GADSS) and proposals for changes to the aircraft systems (i.e. Emergency Locator Transmitter - ELT) procedures, transfer of information between civilian and a military institutions, training and coordination between them. It also presents a list of actions to be taken in order to introduce the proposed changes (including changes in the implementation of the ICAO Annexes). In the second part of the meeting the results of the work of the Task Force on Risks to civil aviation arising from Conflict Zones (TF RCZ). The participants were also informed on the initial proposal on the system which will provide the information on conflict zones.
After briefing the first meeting of the Council of ICAO was held, which was opened by the statement Mr Liow Tiong of Lai Minister of Transport of Malaysia. In his statement, the Minister thanked for the contribution of the ICAO on aircraft accident investigation of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH-17 and also requested for the smooth conduct of the efforts to develop a mechanism to transfer information between Member States and airlines, in case of risks in conflict zones. The Minister also referred to the disappearance of MH370 flight and pointed to the need to establish guidelines for the global flight tracking system which could show flight paths in real time and increase the duration of the underwater locator beacons (ULB) which are installed on the flight recorders in all commercial aircraft.
Later in the meeting the Secretary General of ICAO warmly welcomed the new members of the Council from the USA, Japan and Kenya, and presented a report on the latest findings on the loss of flight MH-17, which was the introduction to the presentation on the ICAO Council Resolution concerning the plane crash of Malaysia Airlines flight MH-17 in the eastern Ukraine on 17 July 2014, which was co-authored by numerous countries, including Poland. During the meeting, the representatives of several countries and regions, spoke on behalf of their governments on the issue of the crash and joint actions with ICAO which are leading up to prevent such accidents in the future. On behalf of the European countries the Italian delegation made the speech. The resolution reaffirms the need for cooperation of all ICAO Member States in the framework of international law, which prohibits acts of violence and causing a threat to international civil aviation. It also stresses that the causes of the accident should be identified through impartial, international study of its circumstances. The resolution reaffirms the readiness of the ICAO to continue cooperation and assistance to the independent commission investigating the causes of the accident, chaired by the Netherlands. The resolution reaffirms the need for further work of the Organization in order to investigate and improve the key issues relating to the safety, protection of civil aviation and air navigation which are within the competence of the ICAO. The resolution calls on Member States and aviation organizations to take all the necessary steps to establish appropriate arrangements for the transfer of information that may affect the risk assessment for aircraft flying through their airspace. The resolution was adopted unanimously by all members of the Council of ICAO, including Poland, which gives an extra boost to continue the increased efforts of ICAO in this respect.
On October 28, the meeting of the Working Group on Governance and Efficiency (WGGE) was held. During the meeting the work program of the Council and its Committees on 204. Session of the Council of ICAO was presented. The participants were addressed with the issues related to the functioning and objectives of ICAO regional offices, training, reporting to the Council of ICAO on implementation of the Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) in the regions.
On October 29, the second meeting of the ICAO under the 203rd Session of the Council was held. The Council members discussed the documents concerning the dangers of Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS). Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska in his speech agreed with the document and stressed that the proposed measures should be implemented in cooperation with other specialized UN bodies. She added that the ICAO regional offices should work towards ensuring that the actions correspond to the specifics of a particular region and its capabilities, available technology and human resources.
The report of the Secretary-General on Ebola virus has been presented. The representatives of African countries thanked for ICAO’s contribution to solve the problem of the virus spread. The draft ICAO Council Resolution to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the signing of the Chicago Convention was presented. The resolution was accepted by the Council and will be officially adopted on 8 December at a special meeting of the Council of ICAO in Chicago with the participation of the UN Secretary General. Moreover a report on the implementation of the Universal Security Audit Programme - Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP-CMA), the report of the Technical Advisory Programme Development and Technical Cooperation. The members of the International Technical Committee on Explosives were appointed. On the same day the EU coordination meeting was conducted in which attended Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska. During the meeting were discussed the issues that would be raised during the meetings of the Environmental Advisory Group (EAG) scheduled for October 29 and 30, in which the Polish representative participates as an observer.
On October 31 was held the third meeting of the Council of ICAO. There were presented the Management Plan for the Technical Cooperation Programme, Report of the Ad-hoc Working Group on Development of Technical Co-operation Programme. Reports were presented by the Vice President of Technical Co-operation Committee (TCC) Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska. There were also presented the activities of the program to strengthen the position of civil aviation in Kazakhstan. The Council positively evaluated the program and report on the program. During the meeting participants have also considered the request of international organizations concerning the opportunity to participate in the ICAO meetings.
The second week of the Council Phase traditionally began with a meeting EU coordination meeting. The third meeting of the Council of ICAO opened “safety week” and was held according to the agenda. The members of the Council were presented with the report of the Air Navigation Commission on the global flight tracking system including the Development Plan of Standards and the Recommended Practices (SARPs). The second report concerned the Air Navigation Commission recommendations and the findings of the meeting on meteorology. Polish representative made a speech during the discussion on the shortage of ICAO funds to restore the meteorology section in the Organization. Dr. Polkowska proposed the implementation of the secondments - the national experts in the place of permanent staff to assist ICAO in the field of meteorology. The Director of the Air Navigation Bureau - Mrs. Nancy Graham presented the activities of ICAO after the disappearance of the Malaysian Airlines flight MH370. The representative of Australia proposed the participation of an expert in the field of search and rescue on the necessary changes to ICAO Annexes. Most countries expressed the need for rapid updating of the Recommended Standards and Practices (SARPs), but due to the forthcoming Conference of the High Level of Security at the beginning of 2015 years it is desired to wait for its results prior the implementation of the amendments. Recommended SARPs will be developed by the Air Navigation Commission after the Conference and will be approved by the Council before implementation.
On Wednesday, November 5 was performed the fifth ICAO Council meeting preceded by an informal meeting of the members of the Council. At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman of the Air Navigation Commission Mr Farid Zizi presented a report on the activities of the Commission. Thanks to the activities of the Commission, a number of important amendments to Annexes 18, 19, 3 and 14 of ICAO, including the transport of lithium batteries and protection of safety data were implemented. Then Mr. Zizi was elected for the next term. During the ICAO Council meeting, Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska proposed the addition to the work program of the Legal Committee the issue concerning the definition of "state aircraft". Dr. Polkowska stressed that the clarification of these issues is crucial to solve the problem with the application of the Chicago Convention on certain contentious situations. She added that these issues were raised in 1994 but not finished, and should be re-incorporated into the work program. The Polish proposal was supported and unanimously adopted by the Council. The decision will help to clarify the doubts arising from Art. 3 of the Chicago Convention. In addition, the Council accepted the work program, changing only the issues relating to unmanned aircraft systems as a higher priority. Later in the meeting of the Council members discussed issues related to the ICAO policy and relations with external entities. The way of cooperation and profits resulting for the Organization from signing the agreements were considered. Poland supported the document presented by Bolivia concerning the ICAO on cooperation with external entities. Dr. Polkowska in her speech pointed out that the integration of the ICAO policy in relations with third bodies will have a very good impact on the operation of the Secretariat and Technical Cooperation Bureau (TCB) as the most cooperating with third bodies. Dr. Polkowska also proposed to add to the document presented by Bolivia "non-profit organizations". Finally, the Council accepted two papers and established the necessity of the appointment by the ICAO President the group responsible to develop a single document for ICAO policies with third parties.
On November 7 was held the sixth meeting of the Council within the framework of 203. Session. During the meeting a new Director of the Air Navigation Bureau has been elected. He was the candidate of the United States. Then the representatives of the Council discussed topics related to anti-corruption policy and to prevent fraud in the ICAO. There were also presented an evaluation report on the ICAO planning, budget and business plan of ARGF fund for 2015. The chairman of the Joint Support Committee (JSC) presented the recommendations of the Committee relating to the Agreements between Denmark and Iceland on air navigation. As part of the meeting concerning the protection of the environment, the latest achievements of ICAO were presented and progress in the field of environmental protection in aviation as well as the review of the decisions and actions taken after 38 ICAO Assembly. Participants of the meeting discussed also the document presented by Saudi Arabia – concerning the need of a detailed action plan of ICAO and EAG activities in accordance with ICAO's resolution on Environment. Finally, the Secretariat concluded that a number of actions have already been taken and there are other forms of reporting to the Council. During the meeting the work of other UN bodies and international organizations in the field of environmental protection have been also reviewed. Secretary General referred to the regional seminars on environmental protection and action plans, which will be held in Poland on 18-20 March 2015.
On November 10 was held a coordination meeting of the EU, then the ceremony to name the metro station ICAO - Square Victoria - ICAO was held. It was conducted with the participation of representatives of the Council, the President of the Council of ICAO and ICAO Secretary General. During the seventh meeting of the Council there were presented the report of the Evaluation and Audit Advisory Committee (EAAC), the results of the meetings of the Steering Group of the Committee on Aviation Environmental Protection (CAEP), the report of the Environmental Advisory Group (EAG), the report of the Secretary-General on the Performance Management Project. Furthermore, the report which outlined the results of the Working Group of the WGGE was presented. It consisted the issues related to assistance to Member States, the report of the CPRG and discussed the matter of creating a Working Group on the future strategy and planning of ICAO presented by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Council members decided to check whether the tasks of the new group did not duplicate the already operating groups within the Organization and to change the group name to the CPRG Group for the Group on Strategy and Planning and broaden the tasks by those proposed in the document.
During the eighth - the last meeting of the ICAO Council on 12 November the achievements of the RHCC Committee were presented, as well as a report on the results of 24 Dangerous Goods Panel (DGP/24) presented by the Air Navigation Commission. Council members discussed proposed by the Commission change which will allow to transport the metal lithium batteries on passenger aircraft (with some exceptions). Poland voted in favor of the change with 25 other countries. The President of the ICAO Council finally decided to accept an amendment due to the the decision taken by the majority of the Council. The further discussion has also been made on the ICAO interaction with the third parties - such as international organizations and representatives of the aviation market. At the end of the meeting, Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska invited all representatives of the ICAO Council to participate in the Polish National Day celebration in ICAO - associated with the anniversary of regaining independence by Poland on 11 November 1918.
On the same day there was a meeting of EU coordination held before 9th meeting of the EAG.
The event associated with the occasion of the Polish National Day held at the Chamber of Commerce in Montreal was attended by all members of the Council, their alternated and directors and heads of departments of the ICAO, who had the opportunity to try Polish cuisine and to learn about Polish traditions. The celebration of the National Days by the Member States is a tradition that allows ICAO employees to learn about the culture of ICAO Member States.
Polish Permanent Representative of the Council Dr. Małgorzata Polkowska thanked everyone for coming and the celebration of Polish Independence Day together with the Member States of ICAO. In her speech, Dr. Polkowska informed on Polish history, historical establishment of the Polish flag which is known today and the ways to celebrate Independence Day by the Poles. The speech also referred to the success of Polish aviation sector - she recalled the 85th anniversary of the signing of the Warsaw Convention, which was commemorated by organizing the conference in Warsaw in October. She also informed that the exhibition on the Warsaw Convention will be donated to ICAO. Dr Polkowska also presented data showing the development of Polish air transport market - an increase in the number of passengers, routes and projected increase of number of passengers until 2030 which were developed by the Civil Aviation Authority. She stressed the growing importance of Polish air transport market and the huge increase in investment in aviation infrastructure - construction of new airports, terminals, navigation aids, and the purchase of new aircraft by the LOT Polish Airlines. She also mentioned about the 85th anniversary of LOT and the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Chopin Airport.
On 13 November 2014. the official donation of the exhibition concerning the Warsaw Convention of 1929 to ICAO took place. The very same exhibition could be seen at the Royal Castle in Warsaw during the International Air Law Conference to celebrate the 85th anniversary of the Warsaw Convention. The exhibition at the Headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organisation was opened in the presence of the Secretary General Mr Raymond Benjamin and ICAO Council Representatives. The Secretary General expressed the interest in the exhibition praising the images which contained the original texts of the Convention and archival aerial photographs. The exhibition will also be part of the ICAO museum exhibition that will open in December this year, which is connected with the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Chicago Convention and ICAO.
The preview of the electronic version of the exhibition.
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