Harboursandport.com: Lagos - African Ministers of Aviation have described the proposal to impose vaccine passports for air travelers as unacceptable as it is tantamount to discrimination against certain groups of the population, especially on the African Continent which still has a considerable number of its citizens who are yet to receive the vaccines.
The
African Ministers delegation’s position was made known yesterday in a
presentation to the ongoing International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) High-Level virtual Conference on Covid-19 by Nigeria’s Minister of
Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika.
Sirika described
the proposal as going "against the intent of the Chicago Convention on the
need to preserve friendship and understanding, reduce the threat to general
security and establish international air transport based on an equal opportunity,
operated soundly and economically."
Rather
than imposing vaccine passports, the African delegation recommended that States
party to the Convention on international civil aviation should continue to
minimize the risks during travel by ensuring compliance with existing
multinational treaties, international frameworks, guidelines, and
recommendations.
He also
recommended that " Human rights, regional/continental/global health
security, economic growth, social cohesion, and good international relations,
and use of innovation and technology worldwide to harmonize requirements should
be promoted, while transmission of critical information across borders related
to public health issues such as COVID-19 and coordination among key players
should also be considered."
The
Nigerian Minister further stated that African nations frowned at States
imposing unilateral measures of global nature related to public health and
asked such states to refrain from such practices and instead take measures that
would facilitate the reopening and reconnection of the world.
“There is
a clear onus on both public and private stakeholders, to take the full measure of
the dire circumstances now facing the air transport sector, and to ensure
sufficient operational sustainability."
"
These actions are critical to making sure that the world is adequately
reconnected, as aviation plays a critical role in the global economic recovery
and achieve the realization of the goals of both AU Agenda 2063 and UN Agenda
2030 for sustainable development”, he said.
On the
general strategies for recovery, Sirika said: “the global distribution of
emergency and humanitarian supplies including the vaccines will no doubt depend
on an economically viable aviation system. Aviation is also capable of
stimulating recovery and growth of the global economy by acting as an enabler and
multiplier of economic activity”.
“Considering
that the global aviation industry operates as an interconnected ecosystem, it
is therefore imperative that all the States of the world implement the ICAO
Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART) recommendations and guidance, which
are based on the latest development of the COVID-19."
"
ICAO, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, is required to bring to
maturity in short term a consensual modality for establishment and deployment
of a global health passport as well as the specification of infrastructure
(soft/hard) and training of professionals”, he added.
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