Facilitation
Developments pertaining to Annex 9 — Facilitation and related guidance
Amendment 26 to Annex 9, adopted by the Council earlier in 2017, became effective on 23 October. It contains new and revised Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) on Passenger Data Exchange Systems, covering Advance Passenger Information (API), interactive-API (iAPI), Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, and Electronic Travel Systems (ETS). The Annex, for example, now obliges each Contracting State to establish an API system, which is required to be supported by the appropriate legal authority and be consistent with internationally recognized standards for API. The Annex also recommends the creation of a Passenger Data Single Window facility to receive passenger data.
As a result of Amendment 26, Annex 9 now also contains new SARPs on the transport of minors, in light of increasing international awareness on the foreign fighters phenomenon and on child trafficking, and the limited availability of international guidance on the treatment of minors travelling by air, in order to help harmonize the policies and procedures followed by Contracting States and aircraft operators on the handling and safety of minors.
ICAO Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Strategy
During 2017, a number of new or updated TRIP-related guidance materials were made available on the ICAO TRIP Publications page. Developed with the support of the technical experts of the TAG/TRIP working groups, these included a new ICAO/United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Guide for Issuing Machine Readable Convention Travel Documents for Refugees and Stateless Persons (February 2017) and the revised three parts of the Guide for Experts in Assessing Security of Handling and Issuance of Travel Documents (March 2017).
The first edition of the new ICAO TRIP Strategy Compendium was launched in October 2017. It is a planning and implementation guide for secure traveller identification management, a complete report of strategy, policy and guidance on the implementation of different elements of the ICAO TRIP Strategy. The publication showcases the guidance material produced by ICAO’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG)/TRIP, to help Member States implement various elements of the ICAO TRIP Strategy and details ICAO’s leadership across all elements of the TRIP Strategy in collaboration with other UN entities and external partners.
Since it was brought into operation in March 2016, the ICAO secure TRIP Platform has more than 260 registered users from States, international organizations and the TRIP community at large, and is recognized as a valuable tool with a view to sharing traveller identification information and practices in a range of key areas.
ICAO Public Key Directory (PKD)
With a view to encouraging participation in the ICAO PKD, Amendment 26 to Annex 9 introduced a new Recommended Practice (RP), RP 3.35.5, that targets those ICAO Member States utilizing Automated Border Control (ABC) systems. This RP encourages the use of the information available through the ICAO PKD as a means to validate ePassports by comparing the facial recognition to the ePassport holder’s photograph.
Training developments
Implementation
Voluntary Support for ICAO’s Work
