Posted Oct 3, 2022 12:44 PM
Unheard of at a general assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO. For the first time since its creation in 1947, one of the major member states of the UN organization – Russia -, is seen excluded from the governance council of the UN organization, responsible for the regulation of international air transport.This unprecedented sanction vote took place on Saturday, on the occasion of the 41st triennial assembly of the ICAO, which is being held in Montreal , until October 7.
Before the vote, several representatives, including those of the European Union, had called for Russia to be sanctioned, believing that it could not continue to sit on the main decision-making body of an organization whose rules of conduct it no longer respected. base, since its offensive in Ukraine. Under ICAO rules, Russia has been guilty, among other things, of violations of Ukrainian airspace, the bombing of civilian airports and the confiscation of hundreds of Airbuses and Boeings leased from Russian airlines, illegally re-registered in Russia.
Excluded by six votes
Result, during the vote intended to renew the main members of the council (stage 1), this Saturday, Russia obtained only 80 votes, out of the 193 states represented at the ICAO, six less than the minimum required of 86 votes to retain his seat on the council, which has a total of 36 members. France, which was re-elected without any problem to this restricted council, gathered 148 votes, as did the other major players in air transport: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom and United States. United.
Russia obviously reacted strongly, contesting the regularity of the vote and asking for a second vote, which was finally refused, after procedural debates. However, Moscow can still hope to appear on the council, no longer as a “State of capital importance for air transport”, but in a subordinate rank, by presenting itself in the last ballot which will take place this Tuesday.
Until now, the ICAO had contented itself with simple reminders to the intention of the States not respecting the international rules of air transport. In 2021, the ICAO council met urgently to decide on possible retaliatory measures against Belarus, after the hijacking of a Ryanair flight carrying an opponent of the regime to Minsk. But the council had finally taken no sanction against Belarus, because of the opposition of Russia.
