2003 G8 Evian: Enhance Transport Security and Control of MANPADS

G7/G8 Summit Meetings | Evian Official Documents

Enhance Transport Security and Control
of Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (MANPADS):
A G8 Action Plan

Evian, June 2, 2003

We, the G8 Leaders, are determined to strengthen our joint efforts to curb terrorist threats against mass transportation. We shall continue to implement the Action Plan we agreed at Kananaskis to ensure safe, secure, efficient and reliable transportation world-wide. We have made important progress in implementing the plan and also have taken a number of new measures.

The scope of our endeavours in this field covers five areas:

1. Manpads

2. Air transport

3. People

4. Container security

5. Sea transport

1. Control of Manpads

1.1. At the Birmingham Summit in 1998, we recognised the threat posed to civil aviation by the criminal use of Man-Portable Air Defence Systems (Manpads) and called for further work to be done to address this problem. At Kananaskis, we agreed to promote transport security in the light of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

1.2. Today, at Evian, we reiterate our deep concern about the threat posed to civil aviation by Manpads, especially in the hands of terrorists or States that harbour them.

1.3. Manpads are surface-to-air missile systems specially designed to be carried and fired by a single individual. Manpads are portable and easily concealed, yet capable of potentially catastrophic destruction. We are therefore implementing national measures to combat such illegal use of Manpads, and will encourage other States to do so as well.

1.4. Given the increasing number of Manpads in world-wide circulation, we commit ourselves to reducing their proliferation and call upon all countries to strengthen control of their Manpads stockpiles.

1.5. In the framework of the Wassenaar Arrangement, "Elements for the Export Controls of Manpads" were agreed by all 33 participating States in 2000. This was a valuable step forward. We undertake to promote the application of the principles defined in these "Elements" by a larger number of States.

1.6. In addition, we agree to implement the following steps to prevent the acquisition of Manpads by terrorists:

" To provide assistance and technical expertise for the collection, secure stockpile management and destruction of Manpads surplus to national security requirements;

" To adopt strict national export controls on Manpads and their essential components;

" To ensure strong national regulation of production, transfer and brokering;

" To ban transfers of Manpads to non-state end-users; Manpads should only be exported to foreign governments or to agents authorised by a government;

" To exchange information on unco-operative countries and entities;

" To examine the feasibility of development for new Manpads of specific technical performance or launch control features that preclude their unauthorised use;

" To encourage action in the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Aviation Security (AVSEC) Working Group on Manpads.

1.7. We agree to exchange information on national measures related to the implementation of these steps by December 2003. We will review progress at our next meeting in 2004.

2. Air transport

2.1. Measures already being implemented:

" Agreement to implement by November 2003 the new international standards for the installation of flight deck doors, as adopted by ICAO;

" Continued support for the implementation of the ICAO Universal Security Audit Programme of all ICAO Member States. First audits have been conducted;

" Increased co-operation on aviation security between us, including implementation of this Action Plan, using ICAO and other relevant international organisations. This will strengthen overall standards across the G8.

2.2. Enhance the air security action plan and develop effective aviation security quality control systems world-wide:

" To review security procedures in place to ensure that staff do not pose a threat to aviation, including, in particular, by examining the feasibility and benefits of ensuring that all staff and items carried are screened when they enter critical parts of security-restricted areas of airports;

" To encourage further work within ICAO to review and adopt the measures related to an enhanced threat level for the standard security procedures;

" To encourage each of us to adopt and implement as soon as possible the harmonised and supplementary provisions on flight-deck door locking issued by the ICAO. Each of us intends to apply these requirements both to international and domestic flights;

" To explore experience gained, inter alia, from installation of on-board TV monitoring systems to control the security inside passenger aircraft;

" To co-ordinate aviation security capacity building efforts for non-G8 countries and to lead in donating funds and advisors to ICAO's aviation security audit programme (AVSEC).

3. People

3.1. We have developed guidelines for the implementation of international standards governing the use of biometrics to verify the identity of travellers and have forwarded them to the ICAO. We endorse the "G8 Roma and Lyon Groups Statement on Biometric Applications for International Travel" and are resolved in our continued support for the ongoing work within ICAO.

3.2. We also agree to develop a secure, verifiable seafarer identity document at the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and are working together towards agreeing on seafarers and port workers security requirements compatible with trade facilitation at the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) and the ILO.

3.3. We are working together to accelerate the use of the joint World Customs Organisation (WCO) / ICAO / International Air Transport Association (IATA) guidelines as a global standard for advance passenger information, and will work to ensure that other necessary requirements for passenger information are developed to a global standard.

4. Container security

4.1. We are working together to reinforce container security arrangements generally and to develop specifically, within the WCO, joint standards and guidelines for electronic transmission of customs data for cargo and a standardised set of data elements to identify high-risk cargo. We are also working together at the same time to combine security needs with trade facilitation.

4.2. Our active support of pilot projects that model an integrated container security regime contributed to the rapid expansion of the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which is now operational in ten major international ports, seven of which are in G8 countries. Our continued support of CSI will encourage rapidly expanding participation by other ports, further enhancing global container security. As international security is only as effective as its weakest link, we support international co-operation in the WCO to ensure a more co-ordinated approach for all ports handling international cargo.

5. Sea transport

5.1. At Kananaskis, we agreed to support in the IMO amendments to the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea that require mandatory ship security plans, on-board ship security officers, mandatory port facility security plans and port facility security assessments for relevant ports serving ships engaged on international voyages, to be included during the development of an International Ship and Port Facility Security Code by July 2004.

5.2. In December 2002, the IMO adopted these amendments which also provide for the fitting of Automatic Identification Systems on ships by 31 December 2004. We support the implementation of measures in this sphere as agreed at our 2002 Summit.

Source: Official Evian G8 website

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