Security Council resolution 2309 (2016) [on terrorist threats to civil aviation]
Symbol: S/RES/2309 (2016)
Date: 2016-09-22
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/71 [31] TERRORISM
S/71 [10] INTERNATIONAL SECURITY
S/ X Threats to international peace and security caused by terrorist acts.
Subjects: ICAO|UN. Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolution 1373 (2001) concerning Counter-Terrorism. Executive Directorate|UN. Security Council Committee Established pursuant to Resolution 1373 (2001) concerning Counter-Terrorism|AVIATION SECURITY|ATTACKS ON AIRCRAFT|TERRORISM|COUNTER-TERRORISM|INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: ANGOLA
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: EGYPT
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: JAPAN
vote: yes
country: MALAYSIA
vote: yes
country: NEW ZEALAND
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: SENEGAL
vote: yes
country: SPAIN
vote: yes
country: UKRAINE
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes
country: URUGUAY
vote: yes
country: VENEZUELA (BOLIVARIAN REPUBLIC OF)
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/2309 (2016)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                22 September 2016




               Resolution 2309 (2016)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 7775th meeting, on
               22 September 2016

                    The Security Council,
                     Reaffirming that terrorism in all forms and manifestations constitutes one of
               the most serious threats to international peace and security and that any acts of
               terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their motivations, whenever,
               wherever and by whomsoever committed, and remaining determined to contribute
               further to enhancing the effectiveness of the overall effort to fight this scourge on a
               global level,
                     Noting with concern that the terrorism threat has become more diffuse, with an
               increase, in various regions of the world, of terrorist acts including those motivated
               by intolerance or violent extremism, and expressing its determination to combat this
               threat,
                     Reaffirming its commitment to the sovereignty, including sovereignty over the
               airspace above a State’s territory, territorial integrity and political independence of
               all States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations,
                     Recognizing the vital importance of the global aviation system to economic
               development and prosperity, and of all States strengthening aviation security
               measures to secure a stable and peaceful global environment, and further recognizing
               that secure air services in this regard enhance transportation, connectivity, trad e,
               political and cultural links between States, and that public confidence in the security
               of air transport is vital,
                     Noting that the global nature of aviation means that States are depende nt on
               the effectiveness of each others’ aviation security systems for the protection of their
               citizens and nationals and relevant aspects of their national security, bearing in mind
               the common goal of the international community in this regard, which means States
               are dependent on each other to provide a common secure aviation environment,
                     Expressing concern that terrorist groups continue to view civil aviation as an
               attractive target, with the aim of causing substantial loss of life, economic damage
               and disruption to connectivity between States, and that the risk of terr orist attacks
               against civil aviation may affect all regions and Member States,




16-16417 (E)
*1616417*

           Expressing grave concern over terrorist attacks against civil aviation and
      strongly condemning such attacks,
            Also expressing concern that civil aviation may be used as a transportation
      means by Foreign Terrorist Fighters, and noting in this regard that Annex 9 —
      Facilitation to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, done at Chicago on
      December 7, 1944 (the “Chicago Convention”) contains standards and recommended
      practices relevant to the detection and prevention of terrorist threats involving civil
      aviation,
            Reaffirming that terrorist attacks against civil aviation, like any act of
      international terrorism, constitute a threat to international peace and security, and
      that any acts of terrorism are criminal and unjustifiable regardless of their
      motivations, whenever, wherever, and by whomsoever committed, and reaffirming
      the need to combat by all means threats to international peace and security caused
      by terrorist acts, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and other
      international law, in particular international human rights law, international refugee
      law, and international humanitarian law,
            Expressing particular concern that terrorist groups are actively seeking ways to
      defeat or circumvent aviation security, looking to identify and exploit gaps or
      weaknesses where they perceive them, noting in this regard the high priority risk
      areas for aviation as identified by the Council of the International Civil Aviation
      Organization (ICAO), in its Global Risk Context Statement, and stressing the need
      for international aviation security measures to keep pace with the evolution of this
      threat,
            Affirming the role of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) as
      the United Nations organization responsible for developing international aviation
      security standards, monitoring their implementation by States and its role in
      assisting states in complying with these standards, noting in this regard ICAO’s “no
      country left behind” initiative, and noting also the adoption at the 37th Session of
      the ICAO Assembly in 2010 of the Declaration on Aviation Security and the ICAO
      Comprehensive Aviation Security Strategy, both of which have become key
      instruments of leadership and engagement for the Organization in carrying out its
      aviation security programme, and noting the intention to develop a Global Aviation
      Security Plan as the future global framework for progressive aviation sec urity
      enhancement,
            Noting that the protection of civil aviation from acts of unlawful interference
      is addressed by the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on
      Board Aircraft (Tokyo, 1963), by the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawf ul
      Seizure of Aircraft (The Hague, 1970), by the Convention for the Suppression of
      Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation (Montréal, 1971), by the
      Protocol for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts of Violence at Airports Serving
      International Civil Aviation, Supplementary to the Convention for the Suppression
      of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation (Montréal, 1988), by the
      Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection
      (Montréal, 1991), by the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Relating
      to International Civil Aviation (Beijing, 2010), by the Protocol Supplementary to the
      Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Seizure of Aircraft (Beijing, 2010), by
      the Protocol to Amend the Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts
      Committed on Board Aircraft (Montréal, 2014) and by bilateral agreements for the
      suppression of such acts,




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      Reaffirming its call upon all States to become party to the relevant
international counter-terrorism conventions and protocols as soon as possible,
whether or not they are a party to regional conventions on the matter, and to fully
implement their obligations under those to which they are a party,
      1.   Affirms that all States have the responsibility to protect the security of
citizens and nationals of all nations against terrorist attacks on air services operating
within their territory, in a manner consistent with existing obligations under
international law;
      2.    Affirms also that all States have an interest to protect the safety of their
own citizens and nationals against terrorist attacks conducted against international
civil aviation, wherever these may occur, in accordance with international law,
including international human rights law and international humanitarian law;
      3.   Notes that Annex 17 — Security to the Convention on International Civil
Aviation, done at Chicago on December 7, 1944 (the “Chicago Convention”),
provides that contracting States shall develop and implement regulations, practices,
and procedures to safeguard civil aviation against acts of unlawful interference and
to ensure that such measures are capable of responding rapidly to meet any
increased security threat, and further notes that Annex 17 to the Chicago Convention
establishes additional standards to safeguard international civil aviation against
unlawful interference, to which contracting States shall conform in accordance with
the Chicago Convention, and that Annex 17 to the Chicago Convention also
provides recommended practices, and that both standards and recommended
practices are supported by detailed guidance on their effective implementation;
      4.    Welcomes and supports the work of ICAO to ensure that all such
measures are continuously reviewed and adapted to meet the ever-evolving global
threat picture, and calls upon ICAO, within its mandate, to continue and enhance its
efforts to establish compliance with international aviation security standards through
effective implementation on the ground, and to assist Member States in this regard;
      5.    Calls upon all States to work within ICAO to ensure that its international
security standards are reviewed and adapted to effectively address the threat posed
by terrorist targeting of civil aviation, to strengthen and promote the effective
application of ICAO standards and recommended practices in Annex 17, and to
assist ICAO to continue to enhance audit, capacity development and training
programmes in order to support their implementation;
      6.   Further calls upon all States, as part of their efforts to prevent and
counter terrorist threats to civil aviation and acting consistent with relevant
international legal instruments and framework documents, to:
     (a) Ensure that effective, risk-based measures are in place at the airports
within their jurisdiction, including through enhancing screening, security checks,
and facility security, to detect and deter terrorist attacks against civil aviation and to
review and assess such measures regularly and thoroughly to ensure that they reflect
the ever-evolving threat picture and are in accordance with ICAO standards and
recommended practices;
     (b) Take all necessary steps to ensure that these measures are effectively
implemented on the ground on a continuing and sustainable basis, including through
the provision of the required resources, the use of effective quality control and
oversight processes, and the promotion of an effective security culture within all
organizations involved in civil aviation;



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            (c) Ensure that such measures take into account the potential role of those
      with privileged access to areas, knowledge or information that may assist terrorists
      in planning or conducting attacks;
          (d) Urgently address any gaps or vulnerabilities that may be highlighted by
      ICAO or national self-risk assessment or audit processes;
            (e) Strengthen security screening procedures and maximize the promotion,
      utilization and sharing of new technologies and innovative techniques that maximize
      the capability to detect explosives and other threats, as well as strengthening
      cooperation and collaboration and sharing experience in regards to developing
      security check technologies;
            (f) Further engage in dialogue on aviation security and cooperate by sharing
      information, to the extent possible, about threats, risks, and vulnerabilities, by
      collaborating on specific measures to address them and by facilitating, on a bilateral
      basis, mutual assurance about the security of flights between their territories;
             (g) Require that airlines operating in their territories provide advance
      passenger information to the appropriate national authorities in order to detect the
      departure from their territories, or attempted entry into or transit through their
      territories, by means of civil aircraft, of individuals designated by the Committee
      pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015);
            7.   Urges States able to do so to assist in the delivery of effective and
      targeted capacity development, training and other necessary resources, technical
      assistance, technology transfers and programmes, where it is needed to enable all
      States to achieve the outcomes set out above, in particular with regards to
      paragraphs 6 (b) and 6 (e);
            8.   Calls upon all States to strengthen their international and regional
      cooperation to strengthen information-sharing, border control, law enforcement and
      criminal justice to better counter the threat posed by foreign terrorist fighters and
      returnees;
            9.   Urges all States to ensure that all their relevant domestic departments,
      agencies and other entities work closely and effectively together on matters of
      aviation security;
            10. Encourages continued cooperation between ICAO and the Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate (CTED) on identifying gaps and vulnerabilities
      relevant to aviation security, welcomes also the cooperation between ICAO and the
      Counter-Terrorism Implementation Task Force to facilitate the delivery of technical
      assistance and capacity building in the field of aviation security, encourages closer
      cooperation between ICAO and the Counter-Terrorism Committee and CTED, and
      requests CTED to continue to work with ICAO to address aviation security in all
      relevant CTED activities and reports, in particular country assessments;
            11. Requests the Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) to hold a Special
      Meeting within 12 months, in cooperation with ICAO, on the issue of terrorist
      threats to civil aviation, and invites the Secretary-General of ICAO and the Chair of
      the CTC to brief the Council on the outcomes of this meeting in 12 months time;
           12.   Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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