The first is the consistent world-wide application of ICAO SARPs, because the level of safety in aviation is and always will be directly related to the level of implementation of these standards. This concerted action will become increasingly important as the world aviation community deals with such complex developments as the privatization of government services, the liberalization of economic controls and the emergence of new technologies, not to mention the ubiquitous globalization phenomenon. Through all of this, Contracting States must continue to fulfill their responsibility of ensuring the safety of their respective airspace. Ultimately, safety is not a national issue, nor is it a regional or continental issue. It is a global issue.
Human beings travel all over the world across political boundaries.
They are entitled to a uniform application of internationally recognized safety standards wherever they may go. Reviewing the events of the past year especially, it strikes me that we are entering a new era in civil aviation, one in which all of our energies are totally committed to a single, universal and harmonized air transport system, focused on the individual. It is a renewed consciousness that we are all here for one reason, to contribute to the betterment of life on earth through civil aviation. For example, the endorsement by the Contracting States of ICAO of a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme places the safety of the individual above all. I emphasize to all States the importance of supporting this programme and of cooperating fully in its implementation, if we are to succeed in improving still further the enviable safety record of civil aviation.