ACVFFI was represented during the 41st Session Triennal Assembly of ICAO by its Chairwoman, Pilar Vera together with Claudia Carrasco, ACHIVAAF President, Lourdes Bonet, AVGWI9525 President and Francisco Vasques-Tenreiro, Friend Member and not affected by air accident. The ACVFFI Delegation was attended from September 27 to October 2.
During the Assembly, there were elections for the 36 seats of the ICAO Council, the governing body of ICAO. This is important for ACVFFI as we will have regular interactions with the Council members regarding the adoption of Standards and Recommended (SARPS) practices that would support the latest developments and innovations in the air crash victims’ assistance field. The Assembly was recorded via the ICAO Harmony platform and it can be look here.
ACVFFI has submitted three working papers asking ICAO to prioritize the ICAO Policy on victims’ assistance. Likewise, ACVFFI Delegation had several meetings with the Representatives of States Member and International Organizations in order to request support for workings papers. All working papers discussed during the Assembly can be found here.
Supporting The Improvement Of Air Accident Investigations
Pilar Vera engaged in the Technical Commission for supporting the Working Paper 193 presented by Canada and co-sponsored by Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, the European Union and its Member States, the other Member States of the European Civil Aviation Conference, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Oman, Senegal, and EUROCONTROL.
This paper outlines the importance of enhancing the credibility and transparency of air accident investigations conducted in accordance with Annex 13 – Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation in the context of the downing of an aircraft, and of ensuring that the work initiated by ICAO to address this question is made a priority.
Block 3 of the first ICAO Symposium on Assistance to Air Accident Victims and their Families, held in Las Palmas (Spain) last December, was about the learned lessons in accident investigations. Conclusions highlighted the importance of a credible air accident investigation, with independence, rigour and technical capability. In addition to clear independence of the safety accident investigation whose main objective is to determine the root causes of the accident so as to avoid its recurrence.
Therefore, ACVFFI fully supported this Working Paper because we believe only a perfect air accident investigation is the only feasible way forward to improve safety, and it is the best tribute to our loved ones deceased in air crashes.
ACVFFI’s Working Papers
As Observer, ACVFFI can present Working Papers for consideration by the Assembly. This is the main way to communicate our suggestions to worldwide decision-makers.
After the first Symposium on Assistance to Air Accident Victims and their Families, ACVFFI aims for the final recommendations to become a reality. In this sense, ACVFFI supported Working Papers 21 “Assistance to the Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families” presented by the ICAO Council, regarding a list of 30 recommendations from mentioned Symposium.
The next video is the presentations of three Working Papers (WP) by ACVFFI to the Executive Committee. Ms. Pilar Vera explained briefly what and why ACVFFI requests and asked for the support of the delegations. Do not forget to turn on the English subtitles.
WP 88 Include In The ICAO Secretariat General A Section Dedicated To The ICAO Victims And Families’ Assistance Policy
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In the spirit of the ICAO No Country Left Behind initiative, victim assistance cannot be left behind and should find a section/unit within the Secretariat, with specific personnel for promoting and managing all ICAO victim assistance regulations.
Taking into account the data of ICAO Assistance policy implementation shown in the Symposium on Assistance to Aircraft Victims and their Families, ACVFFI considers it necessary to promote knowledge on this matter through the establishment of persons in charge to do it.
WP 98 Assistance To Victims In The Emergency Plans Of Airports And Airlines (ACI-IATA)
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Urge ICAO to consider inserting an additional recommendation in Annex 14 — Aerodromes, Volume I — Aerodrome Design and Operations, Chapter 9, about airport operators to have victims and families center reception which have to be included in airport emergency plans;
Request the Council to consider establishing a Recommended Practice in Annex 19 – Safety Management for airport operators to develop appropriate plans for providing timely and effective assistance to aircraft accident victims and their families, within their emergency plans;
Urge States, airport operators and airlines that when they adopt such measures, consider including the Victims’ Associations that show their willingness to collaborate in the development of the same; and
Remind States, airport operators and airlines the Resolution A39-27 of the Assembly and urge them to take preventive and appropriate measures related to safety regarding assistance to victims
WP 62 ‘Trainair Plus’ Course About ICAO Policy On Assistance To Aircraft Accident Victims And Their Families
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After repeated and past requests, in June 2022, the validation delivery of the new ICAO “Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families: Virtual Classroom” Course. The initial aim was to focus on the collaboration of several aviation actors in the development of a State Plan for Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families, including the roles of Airports and Airlines. While the Course validation did not meet our full expectations, ACVFFI highlighted it was the very first step in promoting the ICAO policy. We suggested a number of improvements.
Urge ICAO to provide sufficient resources to have experts from the ICAO Policy on Victim Assistance and enable the participation of experts recognized in order to balance the interests of States Members and International Organizations with the ICAO Policy. Finally, urge States, Airlines and Airports International Organizations to promote participation.
Results Report
The Assembly will finish on 7 October 2022.
A41-14: Assistance to victims of aviation accidents and their families
Having considered that, even though international air transport is the safest means of transportation, the total elimination of serious accidents cannot be guaranteed;
Whereas the actions of the State of Occurrence should address the most critical needs of persons affected by a civil aviation accident and recalling the inclusion, in 2005, of provisions in Annex 9 to enable expeditious entry into the State in which an accident occurs for family members of victims of aircraft accidents;
Whereas the policy of ICAO should be to ensure that the mental, physical, and spiritual well-being of victims involved in civil aviation accidents and their families are considered and accommodated by ICAO and its Member States;
Whereas it is essential that ICAO and its Member States recognize the importance of timely notification of family members of victims involved in civil aviation accidents; the prompt recovery and accurate identification of victims; the return of the victims’ personal effects; and the dissemination of accurate information to family members;
Recognizing the role of Governments of nationals, who are victims of civil aviation accidents, in notifying and assisting families of the victims;
Recalling the provision of Article 28 of the Montréal Convention of 1999 as well as Resolution No. 2 adopted by the Montréal Conference, which called for the provision of advance payments, without delay, to aircraft accident victims, and their families and acknowledging that lack of universal ratification of the Montréal Convention hinders improved and standardized compensation regimes;
Recalling the adoption of Amendment 29 to ICAO Annex 9 — Facilitation which has elevated Recommended Practice 8.46 to Standard 8.47, thus obliging States to establish legislation, regulations and/or policies in support of assistance to aircraft accident victims and their families;
Acknowledging the approval by the Council of the ICAO Policy on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families (Doc 9998) in March 2013 and the issuance of the Manual on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families (Doc 9973) in December 2013;
Acknowledging that a review of the electronic filing of differences (EFOD) system compliance checklist (CC) has indicated a low implementation rate of Annex 9 Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs);
Whereas it is essential that support be provided to family members of victims of civil aviation accidents, wherever the accident may occur, and any lessons learned from support providers, including effective procedures and policies, be promptly disseminated to other Member States and ICAO to improve States’ family support operations;
Considering that harmonization of the regulations for dealing with the needs of victims of civil aviation accidents and their families is also a humanitarian duty and a permissive function of the ICAO Council contemplated in Article 55 (c) of the Chicago Convention;
Considering that States should provide a homogeneous solution for treatment of victims of civil aviation accidents and their families;
Recognizing that the air carrier involved in a civil aviation accident is often best situated to assist families in the immediate aftermath of the accident;
Recognizing the importance of the Council’s decision to officially designate 20 February as the International Day for Commemorating Air Crash Victims and their Families in remembering the victims and expressing solidarity with their families, as well as continuing to enhance aviation safety and prevent such tragedies from happening in the future;
Acknowledging the outcomes of the ICAO Symposium on Assistance to Aircraft Accident Victims and their Families (AAAVF 2021), including the 30 recommendations encapsulated in the Symposium report;
Recalling the useful initiatives of the Air Crash Victims’ Families’ Federation International (ACVFFI) in assisting family members of victims; Noting that family members of victims of a civil aviation accident, irrespective of where the accident occurs or the national origin of the victims, express certain fundamental human needs and emotions; and
Recognizing that public attention will continue to focus on States’ investigative actions, as well as the human interest aspects of a civil aviation accident;
The Assembly:
- Calls on Member States to reaffirm their commitment to support victims of civil aviation accidents and their family members;
- Urges Member States to establish legislation, regulations and/or policies to support victims of civil aviation accidents and their family members, as mandated by ICAO Annex 9 Standard 8.47, and pursuant to Article 28 of the Montréal Convention of 28 May 1999 and Resolution No. 2 adopted by the Montréal Conference;
- Encourages States that have legislation, regulations and/or policies to support civil aviation accident victims and their families to review these documents, as necessary, in consideration of the ICAO Policy in Doc 9998 and of the guidance material in Doc 9973;
- Urges Member States to regularly inform ICAO, through the compliance checklist (CC) in the electronic filing of differences (EFOD) system regarding their level of implementation of Annex 9 provisions associated with family assistance plans;
- Urges Member States to recognize 20 February as the International Day for Commemorating Air Crash Victims and their Families and conduct national commemorations relevant to their citizens impacted by civil aviation tragedies;
- Urges Member States which have not already done so, to ratify and implement the Montréal Convention of 28 May 1999 (Convention for the Unification of Certain Rules for International Carriage by Air);
- Welcomes the recommendations of the Symposium and directs the Council to incorporate into the next triennium Business Plan those Symposium recommendations that require further consultation with expert groups, and in particular to support capacity-building needs of Member States;
- Directs the Council to actively and timely follow-up on the relevant ICAO expert groups regarding those recommendations emanating from the Symposium as required;
- Directs the Council, when considering the extent of the level of implementation of family assistance plans, to give further consideration to the development of Standards and Recommended Practices to support victims of civil aviation accidents and their family members; and
- Declares that this resolution supersedes Resolution A39-27.
The 41st Assembly Resolutions can be read in the next link:
https://www.icao.int/Meetings/a41/Documents/Resolutions/10184_en.pdf
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