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BuIldIng aIR tRanSPoRt caPacIty In afRIca: oPtIonS foR ImPRovIng SecuRIty and goveRnance
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Griffiths, Hugh |
| Copyright Year | 2009 |
| Abstract | Air transportation has played a key role in prolonging the wars that have devastated parts of Africa in recent years. Not only is air transportation instrumental in the transfer of small arms and light weapons (SALW) to war zones, it is also essential for the extraction and transport of minerals, precious metals and hydrocarbons from war-affected countries and in facilitating illicit flows of narcotics and tobacco. Yet unlike arms brokers, drug cartels and commodity smugglers, air transporters are required to operate overtly: their aircraft must be registered and their companies formally constituted. Air transportation thus represents a potential ‘choke point’ at which destabilizing or illicit commodities can be detected and intercepted. Although the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the 1944 Convention on International Civil Aviation (Chicago Convention) and its annexes mandate the establishment of effective civil aviation regimes, in a number of African countries conflict, corruption or a lack of resources have prevented their establishment. Air transportation companies, together with the individuals and trading networks associated with them, have exploited this situation to evade detection or control. Successive reports of United Nations Groups of Experts investigating illicit flows of weapons and other goods by air in Africa have recommended the establishment of air traffic control, monitoring and surveillance systems to better identify, disrupt and diminish illicit flows by air. Recent research by SIPRI has shown also that the rigorous enforcement of air safety regulations can complement such measures, as companies involved in destabilizing transfers tend to have poor safety records. This Policy Brief makes a case for the use of air transport development programmes to significantly improve security and governance in parts of Africa affected by conflict, destabilizing commodity flows and transnational organized crime. After looking at the general issue of controlling air transport in conflict zones, it uses the case of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to show how the implementation of specific policy options could have an immediate effect on the levels of security and improved governance. SummaRy |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | https://www.sipri.org/sites/default/files/files/misc/SIPRIPB0910.pdf |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
