ICAO council rejects siege countries' objections against Qatar

This came during the meeting of the organisation held on Tuesday to hear the complaints submitted by Qatar on the negative effects caused by the siege countries on aviation as well as aviation security and safety.HE the Minister of Transport and Communications Jassim bin Saif al-Sulaiti commended voting of the majority of the ICAO members in favour of considering the complaint of the State of Qatar and rejecting objections of the siege countries. He lauded the efforts exerted by the organisation in maintaining aviation security and safety.He stressed that the violations of aviation safety and security committed by the siege countries are contrary to all customs and conventions binding on all parties, in addition to their serious consequences on aviation safety. He expressed hope that the Executive Council of the organisation would expedite the adoption of appropriate decision on the air traffic and the siege counties' violations of international law, in accordance with the dispute settlement mechanism adopted by the organisation in Article 84 of the Chicago Convention. HE the Minister of Transport and Communications reaffirmed his confidence in the Council and its wise decisions in the interests of aviation safety and security.Al-Sulaiti also stressed Qatar's firm stance in respect of the international laws and regulations governing the airspace in general was manifested in its decision not to take any similar measures to what the siege countries have taken.According to Article 84 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, "If any disagreement between two or more contracting States relating to the interpretation or application of this Convention and its Annexes cannot be settled by negotiation, it shall, on the application of any State concerned in the disagreement, be decided by the Council. The State of Qatar filed two complaints to the ICAO Council under Article 84 of the Chicago Convention concerning the interpretation and application of the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation (1944) and its Annexes, as well as the interpretation and application of the International Airline Transit Agreement.The siege counties submitted a preliminary objection to the ICAO Council and argued that the Council was not competent to consider the complaints submitted by the State of Qatar, with a view to evading their obligations to the Chicago Conventions and the Transit Agreement, wishing to expand negative impacts on aviation security and safety.The State of Qatar submitted a response to the objection of the siege countries, in which it explained that its complaint was within the ICAO Council's competence. The Council of the organisation had earlier set June 26, 2018 as the date for hearing the State of Qatar's complaint against the siege countries.It should be noted that on July 31, 2017, the ICAO Council set emergency routes for Qatari aircraft.