The Soviet Union and the three Arab members–Egypt, Lebanon and Tunisia–registered the only negative votes last night as the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) adopted an American proposal urging members to implement strict security measures against air terrorism. The council has 27 members; ICAO has 124. Dr. Theodor Meron, Israeli ambassador to Ottawa, speaking for his delegation, said that “joint and effective action by clearly defined measures must be implemented against those states which directly or indirectly bear the grave responsibility for acts of terrorism in the air.”
The ICAO Council agreed to convene immediately a special subcommittee to draw up an international convention on sanctions against nations harboring air pirates. Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and the USSR insisted that sanctions are a United Nations matter. The ICAO’s resolution also asked member states to report twice yearly on security measures they are taking.
Dr. Meron declared: “The international community, spearheaded by those countries with important national airlines, has the means to coerce defaulting governments into immediately desisting from aiding and abetting terror in the air. If no cooperation is forthcoming, airlines should abstain from flying to defaulting countries’ airports; law-abiding states should prevail on their national airlines not to land on territory of defaulting lands; and national airlines of defaulting states should be denied landing rights.”
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