UNITED NATIONS — Responding to increasing attacks on airports and
aircraft, the U.N. Security Council on Thursday unanimously approved its
first-ever resolution to address extremist threats to civil aviation
and urge beefed-up security.
The U.N.’s most powerful body called
for stepped up screening and security checks at airports worldwide to
“detect and deter terrorist attacks.” And it called on all countries to
tighten security at airport buildings, share information about possible
threats, and provide advance passenger lists so governments are aware of
their transit or attempted entry.
“The Security Council has
delivered a resounding call to action for the international community,”
said Britain’s Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson. “This is the first U.N.
Security Council resolution ever to focus on the threats by terrorists
to civil aviation and it demonstrates our joint resolve to protect our
citizens from an escalating danger.”
The resolution reflected
growing global anxiety following attacks on airplanes and airports from
Ukraine, Egypt and Somalia to Brussels and Istanbul.
While
aviation security has improved, Johnson said the recent tragedies
demonstrate “the urgency of our task” and the dangers posed by
“terrorists who probe relentlessly the chinks in our collective armor.”
The
British-drafted resolution expresses the council’s concern “that
terrorist groups continue to view civil aviation as an attractive
target, with the aim of causing substantial loss of life, economic
damage” and air links between countries.
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