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UAE keen to boost aviation security

"The UAE has exerted substantial efforts to organise a major international conference to discuss aviation security where participants will work to achieve the goals of the meeting ... efforts are being made by regional groups ... here and in Europe, Latin America, Asia-Pacific and others to boost aviation security. Gatherings like this remind each of us that our work to make our skies safe and secure is a shared project: no nation can achieve this end on its own," said Cresencio Arcos, Assistant Secretary, International Affairs Policy, at US Department of Homeland Security, told Khaleej Times in an interview.

Arcos is in the UAE to attend the First Arab Aviation Security Conference, being held for the first time in the Middle East from February 7. The event deals with several vital topics relevant to the future of Arab aviation and the security measures followed by the region's states.

The conference is being held under the auspices of General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. The conference has been organised by the General Civil Aviation Authority in the UAE in cooperation with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), the Arab Civil Aviation Commission (ACAC) and the Arab Air Carriers Organisation (AACO).

Arcos said that ACAC was doing its part to contribute in putting together a process addressing aviation security in an international context and from different aspects. "I have seen a willingness (on the part of regional participants) to make a contribution to addressing the security concerns regionally and extra regionally," said the US official, who was appointed Director of International Affairs for the US Department of Homeland Security in June 2003.

Arcos said the US stands ready to work closely with ACAC and its member states bilaterally and in security forums such as these.

"ACAC has accomplished much over the years in the field of aviation safety. All of you have contributed to increased security and safety in our skies through the work of your civil aviation authorities, training centers, and through participation in ICAO and ACAC. Now, through your leadership, and the hard work we will undertake today, tomorrow and over the next year, this region can add its valuable experience and insight to the world's body of knowledge on aviation security measures and practices through a working-level group of experts. We know first hand the progress our front-line managers and experts can make when they roll up their sleeves and tackle a problem," he said.

He said the US was cooperating with all countries to enhance aviation security, establishing partnerships and boosting the process of information sharing and procedures, "in a way that is beneficial to all".

Answering a question on the rigorous immigration procedures for travellers from the UAE and other Middle Eastern countries, Arcos said: "We have learnt a lot in the last four years… we have an obligation towards the American people… and when you know that there are some 430 million entries into the US annually, you can imagine the enormous challenge that we have… there is a risk assessment process in place involving screenings and other procedures."

The official said the US security agencies had learnt a lot since the tragic events of 9/11.

"Since 9/11 our efforts have been primarily focused on prevention, deterrence and devising stronger standards and practices internationally through the active support of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and individual nation-states," he said.

Hotels and airlines in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks were worried about their business which was affected during the 18-month period that followed the terrorist incidents. "But things started going back to normal… and here in this region, ACAC is taking every step to enhance security and build confidence in (security) agencies… efforts are also being exerted in capacity building, creating trust in the air travel industry to achieve a brighter future," he said.

Arcos said there was still need to achieve a higher level of cooperation with the region's law enforcement agencies to fight terror. He said the recent escape of Al Qaeda terrorists from a prison in Yemen had justified the serious security concerns and the importance of boosting security cooperation.

In his keynote address at the conference, Arcos said that effective and efficient civil aviation security is based on a system of shared responsibilities, a system that calls on governments to work closely with airports, air carriers, and one another.

"Aviation security is also rooted in premises of cooperation and national self-awareness. First, each country must be responsible for its own aviation security, and in pursuing this responsibility, each country must acknowledge that the security of a country's aviation system is, indeed, a national security issue. Keeping airports, air carriers, baggage and passengers safe from potential acts of terrorism — in your skies or any other sky — is an essential part of the work to prevent acts of international terror. Each country that participates in an aviation security working group must therefore have the political will to secure the necessary level of enforcement, he said at the conference.

"Secondly, all states are geographically located within a group of states that comprise a region. The challenge of security needs to be addressed with our neighbours by actively participating in aviation security initiatives at the regional level. It is through such regional work that areas of weakness are best addressed, where states can offer mutual assistance, share best practices and devise collective approaches to ensure that security levels are broadly and effectively raised," he added.

Arcos said regional and expert-level coordination in aviation security was more than 15 years old and began with the work of groups such as the European Civil Aviation Conference (ECAC).

"Recognising the important work accomplished through our relationship with ECAC and with the help of some of the key European players, we proposed the formation of an aviation experts group under the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. That was in the late 1990s. Since then, security practices have been discussed and developed through the hard work of APEC Economies. Not only are we strengthening security in the region we share; we ensure that each country's economy gets the assistance needed to sustain effective security," stressed Arcos.

In Latin America, similar work with the Latin American Civil Aviation Commission and its sister organisation, the Caribbean/South America Regional Planning and Implementation Group, is being done.

"In North America, we have worked with Mexico and Canada to cooperate in a number of areas including aviation security," he added.

Arcos said that the type of work done with Canada and Mexico, Latin America, Asia Pacific, and Europe, was exactly the sort of cooperative effort the US wants to engage in with the Arab Civil Aviation Commission's member states.

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