The International Civil Aviation Organization and the World Customs Organization will convene their second joint conference on Enhancing Air Cargo Security and Facilitation on April 16-17 in Manama, Bahrain. The conference, to be hosted by Bahrain’s Ministry of Transport (Civil Aviation Affairs), is expected to heighten awareness among aviation security authorities, customs administrations and stakeholders of the challenges facing the global air cargo industry as well as possible solutions.
Just under two years before the proposed conference in Bahrain, there was a similar conference in Singapore. ICAO claims: “Building on the achievements of the first joint conference hosted by Singapore in July 2012, which issued a communiqué calling for new cooperative efforts by customs and civil aviation authorities, participants in Bahrain will focus on ways to further improve cooperation between authorities and with industry in order to strengthen aviation and border security while facilitating the flow of cargo.”
To have conferences with monotonous regularity is not essentially a bad thing, because delegates get a chance to travel, shop and replenish their remunerative coffers through daily allowances. But to have two conferences on the same subject in Asia within a span of 21 months, purely because rich countries sponsor them?
ICAO claims that the Bahrain conference will build on the achievements of the Singapore conference. Are these achievements of the Singapore conference or achievements of the key stakeholders concerned with the air carriage of cargo because of the conference? If it were the former, the achievement of the Singapore conference in 2012 seems to be a communiqué.
This communiqué concludes, after introductory words about ICAO and WCO, that both organizations will, among other things, “encourage close coordination between authorities at the national level responsible for aviation security and customs” and “align policy and regulatory frameworks to achieve synergy.”
These are just a few “promises” to work together on along with a concrete undertaking to ensure that aviation security and customs authorities are aware of each others’ frameworks, mandates and tools in order to identify ways to strengthen coordination and efficiency at the operational level; and determine how electronic advance cargo information can be used to support risk management in air cargo security by identifying threats and implementing the appropriate countermeasures.
The first question for the Bahrain conference would be: have these undertakings been honored and brought to fruition by the two organizations? If so, what measurements are used to determine that aviation security and customs authorities are more aware of each others’ frameworks, mandates and tools? Have ICAO and WCO taken steps to determine how electronic advance cargo information can be used to support risk management in air cargo security by identifying threats and implementing the appropriate countermeasures? If measures have been taken, what are they and what are the results?
The problem with most conferences is that statements are made, undertakings are given, lofty ideals are shouted from the podium and grandiloquent communiqués are issued, without measurable results being presented at conferences that follow. If the Bahrain conference is, as ICAO and WCO say, to build on the results of the Singapore conference, the organizers must put their money where their mouths are and present a progress report in April in Manama. According to the program of the conference, nothing is said to that effect, unless ICAO and WCO provide details in the overview in Session One. If this does not happen, it would indeed be a pity, as the Singapore conference had a whole panel focused on the interests of stakeholders.