By Chinelo Obogo
African Ministers of Aviation have described the proposal to impose vaccine passports for air travelers as unacceptable, saying it is tantamount to discrimination against certain groups of population, especially on the African Continent which still has considerable number of its citizens who are yet to receive the vaccines.
They also described the proposal as going against the intent of the Chicago Convention on the need to preserve friendship and understanding, reduce threat to general security and establish international air transport based on equal opportunity, operated soundly and economically.
The African Ministers Delegation’s position was made known on Wednesday in a presentation to the ongoing International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) High Level Conference on Covid-19 by Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
Rather than imposing vaccine passports, the African delegation recommended that States party to the Convention on international civil aviation should continue to minimize the risks during travel by ensuring compliance with existing multinational treaties, international frameworks, guidelines, and recommendations.
Sirika who spoke on their behalf, also recommended that Human rights, regional/continental/global health security, economic growth, social cohesion, and good international relations, and use of innovation and technology worldwide to harmonize requirements should be promoted, while transmission of critical information across borders related to public health issues such as COVID-19 and coordination among key players should also be considered.
He also stated that African nations frowned at States imposing unilateral measures of global nature related to public health and asked such states to refrain from such practices and instead take measures that would facilitate the reopening and reconnection of the world.
“There is a clear onus on both public and private stakeholders, to take full measure of the dire circumstances now facing the air transport sector, and to ensure sufficient operational sustainability. These actions are critical to make sure that the world is adequately reconnected, as aviation plays a critical role in the global economic recovery and achieve the realization of the goals of both AU Agenda 2063 and UN Agenda 2030 for sustainable development.
“The global distribution of emergency and humanitarian supplies including the vaccines will no doubt depend on an economically viable aviation system. Aviation is also capable of stimulating recovery and growth of global economy by acting as an enabler and multiplier of economic activity.
“Considering that the global aviation industry operates as an interconnected ecosystem, it is therefore imperative that all the States of the world implement the ICAO Council Aviation Recovery Taskforce (CART) recommendations and guidance, which are based on the latest development of the COVID-19. ICAO, in collaboration with relevant stakeholders, is required to bring to maturity in short term a consensual modality for establishment and deployment of a global health passport as well as the specification of infrastructure (soft/hard) and training of professionals”.
“As well captured by the Preamble of the Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention, 1944), there is an important need to develop international civil aviation to preserve friendship and understanding, reduce threat to general security and establish international air transport based on equal opportunity, operated soundly and economically.
“It is worth noting that the WHO Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization (SAGE) Roadmap for Prioritizing use of COVID-19 Vaccines in the Context of Limited Supply, acknowledges that there is still a limited supply of vaccines and puts forward seven key assumptions regarding vaccines. This further strengthens the fact that vaccines are still not widely available to all world regions, particularly Africa,” he said.