C-MIN 137/15
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Representative of Canada had in his hand today, and which was the only tangible item that had survived. This human dimension of the Council's work was ever-present, since the Chicago Convention had been established by the world community to protect the travelling public and ensure that air transport developed safely around the world.
2.1
It was no surprise that the Government of Canada, which, together with the Republic of Korea, had requested an emergency special session of the Council in 1983, was very firm in its conviction that the request now under consideration was in the interest of aviation--for all peaceful- minded countries, and for the families of the victims-to ensure that this would not happen again. The Council had assumed its responsibility in the past and had submitted the best possible report in 1983; it had received the support of the ICAO Assembly and was now being supported by the world community as it attempted to go one step further. Although his Government was eager to progress this task, the Representative of Canada cautioned against a rushed approach; ICAO would have to do its work properly and in the spirit of its rules, its treaties and its annexes. While respecting these standards, the Organization should strive to complete its investigation as quickly as possible in determining the facts relating to the KAL 007 tragedy.
4.
Having noted the opening remark of the Representative of Canada, the President of the Council concurred that the passage of time-whether measured in years or decades-would never allow this tragedy to be forgotten. The Council's thoughts were with the families of the victims; in the presence of the families attending the Council meeting today, while remembering those who could not be present, the President, speaking on behalf of the Council, expressed deepest sympathy and condolences. During the course of the discussion, the condolences expressed by the President of the Council were echoed by all Representatives taking the floor.
5. The Representative of Spain recalled that when his Government, in September of 1983, had learned of the shooting down of a South Korean passenger aircraft, it had condemned this act, stating that it ran against the moral conscience of humanity, and had maintained that such actions could not be considered as anything but confrontations between blocs, a true violation of the international rules for air traffic safety leading to the loss of many innocent lives. Today, countries throughout the world could take heart in the fact that the four States so directly involved in this incident had decided to co-operate so that ICAO may complete the work it had initiated some nine years before, but had been unable to complete until now, because not all relevant materials were available. The Representative of Spain strongly supported any efforts on the part of the Council which would be aimed at strengthening the safety of passengers using air transport as a means of bringing together the peoples of the world.
6. The Representative of the United Kingdom welcomed Consul General Young-sup Kim, the Chief Observer from the Republic of Korea, whose presence was, however, a poignant reminder of those sad days in 1983 when Observers from the Republic of Korea had participated in the Council's discussions on this tragedy. The United Kingdom supported the request under consideration, and agreed that the Secretary General should be instructed to arrange for an analysis and evaluation of new evidence to be carried out under his supervision. While hoping that the Secretary General would be instructed to take up contact immediately with authorities of the United Kingdom and any other States which needed to be involved in the completion of this work, the Representative of the United Kingdom believed that the Council would have to be careful in any public notice of this decision, so as not to build any expectations which could not be fulfilled. Further evidence in the form of