航空保安に関する安保理ブリーフィングにおける川村大使ステートメント (英文)
平成29年9月27日
I would like to begin by thanking Dr. Fang Liu, Secretary General of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), and Ambassador Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, Chair of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, for their informative briefings. Japan co-sponsored resolution 2309 with a view to enhancing aviation security together with the international community. Civil aviation has been an attractive target for terrorists over the past decades, as we witnessed with the 9/11 attacks in the United States, and more recently in Brussels and Istanbul last year. Terrorists will use all available methods to attack civil aviation, and we thus need to use all available tools to prevent them.
While aviation security contains a wide range of activity areas, information exchange is among the most basic but effective. As the briefers pointed out, Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) systems should be introduced to detect foreign terrorist fighters in accordance with resolutions 2178 and 2368. The ICAO’s API Guidelines and PNR Reporting Standards demonstrate the usefulness of these systems. API contains passport and flight information, while PNR contains passengers’ booking information, including itineraries, names and nationalities of traveling companions, and payment methods. This information helps the authorities analyze and detect possible FTFs before they arrive at airports. However, according to the CTED briefing this March, only 57 of 193 Member States have introduced the API system, and only 15 use the PNR system. Japan calls upon all Member States to employ these systems as soon as possible as encouraged by the resolutions. To support these efforts, Japan has provided 2.24 million USD of assistance to the Asia-Pacific region to promote API and PNR for aviation security. We hope that other Member States will also promote support to enable wider use of these systems.
Moreover, API and PNR systems will not be enough. We must collect information on terrorists to match with the information obtained by API and PNR. Therefore, updating ISIL and Al-Qaida Sanctions Lists and populating INTERPOL databases, including Stolen & Lost Travel Documents Databases, is important. These databases should be extended to airports and border checkpoints. If these areas do not have access to the databases, terrorists may sneak across borders unnoticed due to the lack of timely notice. However, more than 100 out of 190 Member States of INTERPOL do not use this powerful database to screen travelers at airports and border checkpoints. I therefore urge Member States to extend access to the INTERPOL database to airports and other front-line checkpoints in accordance with resolution 2322.
Mr. President,
Regarding aviation security, we strongly condemn the series of ballistic missile launches by North Korea in flagrant violation of Security Council resolutions and demand that North Korea immediately cease all such actions. These ballistic missiles were launched without any prior notification, and could have catastrophic consequences and pose a threat to aviation security.
In closing, I would like to stress the importance of moving to implementation. Japan is always ready to work closely with other countries to enhance their capacities in counter-terrorism, including aviation security. We must unite against terrorists by implementing resolution 2309 and related resolutions to further enhance our counter-terrorism measures.
I thank you, Mr. President.