How ICAO Can Help the Member States That Have Difficulties in Implementing its Standards - Term Paper Example

Name : xxxxxx Tutor : xxxxxxx Title : xxxxxxx Institution : xxxxxxx @2009 How ICAO can help member states that have difficulties in implementing its standards INTRODUCTION This paper examines the difficulties facing a number of ICAO member states and further outlines proposals on how ICAO can help these states in meeting the safety standards. This is in line with the realization that majority of the member states are facing a number of challenges in successfully implementing most of the aviation safety regulations. ICAO is an acronym for the International Civil Aviation Organization whose constitution is formulated under what is termed as the Chicago convention. This organization is empowered by its constitution to examine the safety of the aviation industry in line with other regulations. It is made up of a total of a hundred and eighty nine member states. The member states of this organization are drawn from all ends of the world including Africa and Asia. Background of the challenges The international civil aviation organization while operating with its technical cooperation programme has been able to outline several regulations in an effort to foster the safety of the aviation industry. It is thus saddening that even with all its efforts, there are still a large number of the member states that have not confirmed to its standards. Most of these states exhibit a very big failure in the development of the capability to uphold the safety oversight. This has been indicated in an audit performed on a number of the member states in the recent past. Most of the member states attribute their failure to comply to the lack of adequate funding. This is an aspect that translates in to the inability to afford competent expertise (Lelieur 2003). The situation has forced the international civil aviation organization to come to the conclusion that a number of both regional and sub regional organizations are needed to effectively oversee safety regulations. The ICAO therefore realizes the need for a shared responsibility in fostering the objectives and strategies that can uphold safety (Kim 2009). This according to the organization calls for the need to harness the member states to jointly pool their resources towards attracting and at the same time retaining the most competent personnel. This organization acknowledges the fact that every member state has its absolute sovereignty regarding its territory in airspace. The member states on their part are held with the responsibility of ensuring that they meet the obligations that are bestowed on them by the Chicago convention regarding the safety of the aviation industry. This requires that the member states of the organization subject themselves to the outlined standards and regulations in an effort to uphold international safety measures in the industry (ICAO 2009). The regulations outlined by this organization with reference to the safety of the aviation industry therefore require that all the member states operate under standards that are internationally accepted. This calls for the member states to effectively cooperate by upholding the standards to the highest degree. This is thought to be an aspect that will in the long run foster the harmonization and standardization of the outlined regulations and standards. The compliance to the outlined safety standards is a requirement that appears in the twelfth and the thirty seventh articles of the Chicago convention. Issues of major concern in the implementation of the safety regulations thus revolve around the legislation of the aviation industry, the regulations with which the operations in the industry are governed, the civil aviation system alongside the oversight roles of the state. The specific qualifications of the technical crew and the type of technical support are also included. This is coupled with the licensing and the authorization regulations. The surveillance and the concerns regarding the resolution of safety are also examined (Button 2004). With reference to the major concerns of safety in the aviation industry, it emerges from the audit conducted by the ICAO that four major issues of safety should be immediately addressed. With regard to the primary legislation of the aviation regulations, it emerges that majority of the contracting member states have neither complied to the outlined standards or their standards are such that are not in line with the existing regulations. It is demanding that the safety of the aviation industry in the various contracting states should comply with the outlined regulations of the Chicago convention (Kher 2008). It also emerges that a number of the member states have gone a head to implement measures and regulations by adopting very poor transitions that eminent from superior member states of the organization. This aspect has in fact made it very difficult for the authorities in the civil aviation industry to effectively interpret the implication of a number of rules and standard regulatory measures. This aspect has translated in to the wrong application of majority of these regulatory procedures and rules. The long term effect of such implications has had very adverse effects on the safety of the aviation industry (Taylor & Francis Group 2004). With reference to the institutional structures in place, it emerges from the audit conducted by the organization that in majority of the contracted states, the various organizations held with the responsibility of overseeing aviation safety lack the power and independence to effectively uphold the regulations. It is established from long term experience that authorities in the civil aviation industry are bound to operate more effectively when they are empowered to function autonomously. This is very possible if the various civil aviation authorities have the power and utmost authority to oversee and effectively manage their budget. This is made possible through an accounting system fostered from within the authority. Such a system can be funded by revenue collection on the licensing, inspection and certification within the aviation industry. There is need for such a form of revenue to be augmented by the funding of the government (Kher 2008). How ICAO can effectively foster the implementation of the safety regulations. With the realization of the impeding hindrances in the implementation of the safety standards, ICAO should help in overseeing the effective collaboration of its member states in upholding the safety standards. The move to foster the involvement of both regional and sub regional organizations is in deed very ideal. The use of a system formulated on the regional basis for instance can provide ideal economies of scale. This can be realized through the joint use of available resources. Such a move can effectively build and at the same time enhance the ability of the member states to uphold an oversight system that can foster aviation safety. It is thought that the joint efforts of the contracting states that fall in the same region or sub region is bound to have a very persuasive command on the global stage . This is an aspect that will in the long run help in securing a better and favorable environment that is geared at fostering safe modes of international aviation. With the incorporation of such a strategy, the entire aviation industry stands to greatly benefit from the joint incorporation of regulations and standards at a harmonized level. The ICAO needs to realize that the effective joint cooperation in this regard requires a structure that can foster the management and establishment of an oversight system with reference to safety in international aviation. There are a number of benefits that can emerge with reference to regional and sub regional joint collaborations. At the most influential level, cooperation at the technical level is an aspect that will offer an ideal opportunity for sharing any form of experience. Such a move will also make it possible for the member states at the same region or sub region to discuss the most common problems affecting them especially in areas where they happen to share common interests. This is a measure that would definitely allow the various members states to formulate the most ideal solutions in an effort to come up with measures that can that help in meeting the expected safety obligations (Kher 2008). The international civil aviation organization needs to foster regional and sub regional cooperation of its member states in an effort to uphold economies of scale that can effectively increase the efficiency with which resources are pooled together and shared. Majority of the member states that have had problems with the implementation of the outlined safety standards attribute their inability to do so to lack of adequate resources. The initiative to pool together the available resources within a particular region is an ideal measure that can increase the rate at which the regulations will be implemented (International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers Associations 2001). It is expected that advocating for regional and sub regional collaboration can effectively foster a more reliable and effective action that can effectively address both external and internal challenges. Such a move will in the long run enable the member states to increase the capacity with which they can develop regulations that are more harmonized and at the same time comply with the ICAO standards (Kher 2008). At the international level, such a move if effectively fostered will enhance the demonstration of solidarity. This would be felt at the regional level and at the same time increase the participation of the member states in activities that revolve around the overall safety of the aviation industry. If ICAO manages to encourage the member states to cooperate at both regional and sub regional levels, it would be possible to empower the various contracting states. This would then make it possible to effectively determine a number of priorities in an effort to solve the challenges facing the implementation of the safety regulations. Such a move will also make it possible for a number of member countries with limited resources to earn foreign support in the implementation of the safety regulations in the aviation industry (Schachter 1995). For ICAO to effectively strengthen the oversight of the safety regulations and standards, it should through its technical cooperation initiative formulate projects within regions. The cooperative development of operational safety and continuing airworthiness project is an ideal representation of such projects at the intra state level (Alessandra 2001). Such projects should be designed with the objective of attaining a kind of collaboration at the regional level that can ensure that human resources are utilized with the utmost cost effectiveness in an effort to uphold their optimization. This is a measure that if effectively upheld by the international civil aviation organization would in the long run help in overcoming the many financial obstacles and the implicated labour inadequacy. These are aspects that have greatly affected the proper implementation of the safety regulation in the aviation industry. The move will thus help in achieving a harmonization at the regional level that can effectively oversee the implementation of the safety regulations and standards (Royal Aeronautical Society 1997). In an effort to foster the implementation of the highly acknowledged unified strategy programme, it would be of more benefit if ICAO moved in and offered support .Such support can be geared at assisting the member states that are ready and willing to jointly cooperate in the management and establishment of a regional safety oversight organization. An ideal way through which such support can be offered is through offering a direct form of assistance in the establishment and proper management of the RSOO. This type of support should preferably be offered up to a time when the various member states are capable of managing the programme by them selves. In an effort to assist the member states in learning to manage the programmes on their own, it is advisable for the ICAO to help in the training of individuals that can take up the various responsibilities (Gonzalez 2007). Yet another ideal form of assistance from ICAO can be fostered in the form of technical support in various mechanisms of the joint cooperation. ICAO in this regard can therefore offer logistical assistance as well as guidelines on the various documents needed for effective implementation of the program. Since ICAO operates a technical cooperation bureau, it can at the same time offer the effective management of the projects. Such support should not be limited to the COSCAPs alone but also extended to the various independent programmes (Ruwantissa 2007). This technical cooperation bureau can equally support the various regional and sub regional safety oversight initiatives up to a time when they are able to sustain themselves. The various regional and sub regional safety oversight initiatives that ICAO can seek to support include: the joint aviation authority that covers majority of member states in Europe. This initiative is geared at enhancing the safety of the aviation industry through the legislation, maintenance and licensing of air crafts. The European Aviation safety agency is yet another regional safety initiative. This unlike the former is an independent organization that stirs the legislation and the financial management of the European aviation safety. Other regional and sub regional safety oversight initiatives include the interstate aviation committee, the regional aviation safety oversight system for the Caribbean region and the pacific aviation safety office (Ruwantissa 2007). In an effort to assist the various states in planning towards the well being and the overall safety of the aviation industry, ICAO should continue publishing and providing comprehensive data. This organization should also maintain the initiative geared at upholding intense studies on the economy. This should preferably be done in line with the various resolutions identified in the organization’s assembly in conferences held at the global level (Taylor & Francis Group 2004). In an effort to effectively guide the various member states on matters to do with aviation safety, ICAO needs to provide the states with guide lines in vital aspects especially in statistics and the area of forecasting in air traffic. There is need for ICAO to ensure that member states are constantly informed on its activities and recommendations through organizing for work shops and conferences. Such forums are very ideal at fostering the exchange of important information regarding the level of aviation safety (Southwestern University 2008). With regard to fostering technical assistance to the member states, ICAO should enhance its support for the development of ideal ground services. Such ground services should particularly be geared towards the perfection of aerodromes and the control of air traffic. With the increase in demand for the services offered by the aviation industry, there is need for ICAO to foster the development of ideal communication and management of metrological parameters. With the shocking increase in the number of accidents in the industry, ICAO needs to formulate strategies that can assist in the management of illegal disruptions of air transport especially with reference to combating terrorism attacks (Robertson 2007). General assistance with reference to technical mechanisms should revolve around advising the various states on the ideal type of facilities to put in place. With regard to the recruitment and training of the most ideal personnel, ICAO needs to help the member states in the training of human personnel. There is need for ICAO to create more training institutions to help in such training. Such institutions should be initiated in various regions of the world to make it easy for the personnel seeing to be trained. Other than helping in the training of the personnel, ICAO needs to constantly send a number of its highly competent experts to the various member states to assist in the training of the human personnel (ICAO 2008). A very major problem in the implementation of the safety standards is the variations in the legislation. Most of the member states have certain forms of legislation that greatly differs from those of other states. This is an aspect that in the long run makes it relatively hard for all the member states to have similar standards. This at the same time explains why most of such states have ended up formulating their own policies. Such policies are very contrary to those outlined by the Chicago convention. This wrong formulation of policies has had negative implications on the entire aviation authority. ICAO should there fore identify a unifying form of legislation with regard to the aviation industry. This organization needs to formulate an international set of laws to govern the aviation industry (Soekkha 1997). There is need for the organization to realize the responsibility it is held with regard to upholding the various instruments of law in the aviation industry. The organization needs to encourage its member states to adopt the international acknowledgement of property rights in the aviation industry. This should be fostered in line with upholding measures that can foster justice for crimes committed in the industry especially with reference to passengers on board. Safety measures on a number of the international passenger carriers in the aviation industry would be increased if ICAO encouraged the use of detector devices. Such devices would make it possible to easily detect any form of dangerous weaponry that can jeopardize the safety of the aircraft (Soekkha 1997). RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ACTION With reference to the alarming state of insecurity in the aviation industry there is need for the ICAO to formulate strategies that can help implement the safety standards. The organizations should realize that majority of the safety related matters currently revolve around terrorism. ICAO needs to strongly condemn all forms of terrorism attacks. There is need for the organization to help the member states in understanding that such acts are contrary to expected norms and are in reality a major violation of the law. ICAO needs to strongly urge all its member states to ensure that civil aviation is only used in line with the Chicago convention constitution. The member states should thus be urged to take full responsibility and accountability by punishing those who are found violating the international law. This is an aspect that will help enhance the level of safety in the aviation industry. ICAO needs to strongly condemn member states that may be hosting the perpetuators of such crimes (eTN Team 2008). ICAO needs to strongly urge its member states to foster the joint cooperation in narrowing down acts of insecurity like terrorism. This needs to be done through measures that ensure thorough investigation and prosecution of those involved. All the member states need to be encouraged by ICAO to implement and at the same time enforce conventions on the security of the aviation industry. This should be fostered in line with the outlined standards and regulations of ICAO relating to the safety of the aviation industry. The member states need to be urged to fully monitor and evaluate their own progress on the implementation of the outlined safety standards. ICAO should also urge the various member states to fully contribute both financially and in the form of other resources towards its mechanism in support of the war against illegal disruptions in the aviation industry (Milde 2008). In line with supporting the member states in various capacities to enhance the implementation of the safety standards, ICAO needs to foster the priority of safety in the aviation industry (United Nations 2007). The member states should thus be made to understand that the safety of the aviation industry is a matter that should take precedence over the implicated profits. With references to controlling and effectively combating illegal disruptions of the safety of the aviation industry, ICAO needs to urge its member states to implement the recommendations of the convention on suppression of such acts. Members that are not yet implementing safety standards should be encouraged to become part of this convention. ICAO needs to urge its contracting states to partner with the convention on the marking of explosives to enhance their detection as stated in the Montreal convention in 1991 (United Nations 2007). Irrespective of the fact that every sate is held with the responsibility of ensuring the safety of its airspace, ICAO needs to strongly urge the various states to implement the outlined safety standards. This should in fact become the merit for defining membership. Each of the member states needs to be cautioned against not taking fully responsibility of the safety of its air space. For member states with limited ability to fully implement such standards, ICAO can offer both technical and financial assistance. Help to such member states can also be sought from superior organizations on behalf of the members by ICAO (Cheng 1998). Conclusion The level of safety in civil aviation is an aspect that should be fostered by the individual country. The international civil aviation organization (ICAO) recognizes that each of its member states has the absolute sovereignty over its air space. The obligation of ensuring the safety of the air space in each member state needs to be strongly urged. The difference in the laws governing the member states and the varying financial status makes it hard for all the member states to have a uniform set of standards. This is an aspect that explains why some countries have adopted the outlined standards while majority have not. The audit conducted by ICAO attributes the failure to the implementation of the safety standards to a number of aspects. ICAO needs to fully step in and help the member countries that are facing difficulties with the implementation of its standards. This can be done through various measures. Reference Alessandra, A 2001,The global navigation satellite system: navigating into the new millennium Studies in Aviation Economics and Management, University of Michigan, Ashgate. 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