UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon (second from left) addresses the Extraordinary ICAO Council Session as Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (left), U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (second from right), FAA Administrator Michael Huerta (right) ICAO Council President Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu and ICAO Secretary General Raymond Benjamin look on. ICAO was also joined in Chicago by many other senior U.S. and international officials and the heads of many major international aviation organizations.
MONTRÉAL, 11 December 2014 –The 36-State Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted a special Resolution earlier this week commemorating the continued relevance of the Chicago Convention and the role of ICAO in supporting the global availability of air transport benefits for all world citizens and businesses. The full text of the Resolution is included below.
RESOLUTION ADOPTED AT THE EXTRAORDINARY SESSION OF THE COUNCIL
ON 8 DECEMBER 2014 ON THE OCCASION OF THE SEVENTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE SIGNING
OF THE CHICAGO CONVENTION
Whereas 7 December 2014 marks the Seventieth Anniversary of the signing in Chicago of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention;
Convinced that the fundamental aims and objectives of the Chicago Convention remain as relevant today as when they were conceived in 1944;
Recognizing that the safe and orderly growth of civil aviation that has been achieved over the past seventy years has delivered many positive socioeconomic benefits to humanity;
Determined to ensure that international civil aviation will continue to contribute to the promotion of global peace and security, social integration among the peoples of the world, economic prosperity of nations, and sustainable development for future generations; and
Considering that there remains a strong and ongoing need for the international community to continue forging consensus-based progress in international civil aviation and to build on the foundations that were laid in Chicago seventy years ago;
The Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), on the occasion of this 70th Anniversary of the signing of the Chicago Convention:
1. Pays tribute to the leadership, vision and cooperative spirit of the signatories of the Chicago Convention, who came together seventy years ago to create and preserve friendship and understanding among the nations and peoples of the world in the development of international civil aviation;
2. Emphasizes the essential role that ICAO plays as a global forum for cooperation among its Member States and the civil aviation community, and as a standard-setting body for the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation;
3. Reiterates the need for ICAO, as a specialized agency in relationship with the United Nations, to continue to take a leadership role in the development of principles, standards, agreements and arrangements for global civil aviation, thereby contributing to peace and prosperity in the world;
4. Encourages all Member States of ICAO to continue to promote the ideals and principles of the Convention on International Civil Aviation and compliance with its provisions;
5. Acknowledges the critical need for continued ICAO efforts aimed at identifying the challenges posed by increases in global air transport demand and capacity, as well as the opportunities offered by new and emerging technologies, and to address those challenges and take advantage of those opportunities in order to achieve the safe, secure and sustainable growth of the international civil aviation system; and
6. Invites all stakeholders, including Member States and relevant organizations of the global civil aviation community, to continue sharing and promoting best practices and working together through ICAO in support of a worldwide air transport system, which serves and benefits all nations and peoples of the world.
Background resources for editors:
ICAO 70TH Anniversary Website
Multimedia Gallery, History of International Civil Aviation
Contact: communications@icao.int
