Flight PS752 Downing & Safer Skies Initiative
Location: National
Issue/Source: The Government of Canada’s Response to the Downing Of Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752
Date: March 7, 2023
Suggested Responses
- The Government of Canada, in collaboration with the Coordination Group – the United Kingdom, Sweden and Ukraine – has reached a significant milestone in our ongoing efforts to seek accountability, transparency, and justice from Iran.
- On December 28, 2022, Canada requested that Iran submit to binding arbitration related to the downing of Flight PS752, as specified under the 1971 Montreal Convention.
- This action is a key step forward in the pursuit of accountability in accordance with international law.
- Canada also continues to advocate for enhancing the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) air accident investigation protocols, to make investigations more transparent and trustworthy.
- In addition, through our Safer Skies Initiative, Canada is also pursuing efforts to enhance the safety of civilian aircraft travelling in or near conflict zones.
Background Information
- The Government of Canada and its partners in the Coordination Group—Sweden, Ukraine and the United Kingdom—continue to work together to hold Iran accountable for the downing of Flight PS752 and ensure full reparations are made for the deaths of 176 innocent people. On December 28, 2022 the Coordination Group announced its request that Iran submit to binding arbitration of the dispute related to the downing of Flight PS752 as specified under the 1971 Montreal Convention. This is a key step forward in the pursuit of accountability in accordance with international law.
- As part of its broad strategy in response to the downing of PS752, Canada is also working at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to advance the Safer Skies Initiative and reforms to ICAO’s international air accident investigation regime (i.e., Annex 13 of the Chicago Convention).
- Canada is committed to enhancing the transparency and credibility of air accident investigations and to adapting Annex 13 to the context of an aircraft downing, including to better address the apparent conflict of interest in which the State of Occurrence is placed. ICAO’s technical bodies, the main conduit for developing Annex 13 amendments, have created a working group to review and develop ways to address conflict-of-interest, credibility and transparency issues in the context of an aircraft downing. The working group held its second in person meeting in November 2022 in The Hague, Netherlands. [ Redacted ] The next meeting of the working group is scheduled to take place on May 23-26 in Montreal.
- Maintaining and expanding international support for the working group is key to its timely completion given ICAO’s competing priorities and limited resources, as well as member states’ different views. At the 41st ICAO Assembly, Canada gathered support from 60 countries for its Annex 13 working paper, which requested that ICAO prioritize ongoing work to adapt Annex 13 to the context of an aircraft downing. The Assembly recognized this support, which is expected to help bolster the ICAO expert-led review process.
- Canada is also continuing efforts to prevent future civilian aircraft downings over or near conflict zones by advancing the Safer Skies Initiative, both at ICAO and through the Safer Skies Consultative Committee (SSCC). The Safer Skies Initiative was established to mitigate risks to civil aviation operations over or near conflict zones. Progress has been achieved at the international level to advance the Initiative, including the creation of the SSCC, the Safer Skies Commitment Statement, and Transport Canada’s hosting of the first and second global Safer Skies Forum. The second Safer Skies Forum brought together over 365 subject-matter experts representing all regions of the world. It provided an opportunity for the Safer Skies Consultative Committee to provide an update on its conflict zone risk mitigation work, including two working papers on information sharing approaches, a risk mitigation strategy inventory, as well as criteria for airspace closure. Canada and the Netherlands will be co-hosting the third Safer Skies Forum in person, in The Hague, in June 2023.