Six African countries were recognized for their aviation safety during the 42nd ICAO conference 2025 held in Montreal.
ICAO Council President Salvatore Sciacchitano awarded certificates to Bostwana, Morocco and Senegal for their safety progress. Angola, Cameroon and Togo were feted for their achievements in aviation safety.
The six were among a group of 14 countries recognized for making bold steps in improving security standards in the industry. The rest of the states were drawn mainly from Asia and Europe, namely Albania, Azerbaijan, Oman, Bahrain, Indonesia, Kuwait, Moldova and India.
The effective implementation of ICAO’s global Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) by States is key to the optimizing and aligning the 193 regulatory frameworks that govern international civil aviation. This is critical to the safety and security of global aviation, which underpins its ability to act as a catalyst for sustainable development worldwide.
ICAO’s Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) focuses on a State’s capability in providing safety oversight by assessing whether the State has implemented the critical elements of a safety oversight system effectively and consistently. This enables the State to ensure the implementation of ICAO’s SARPs and associated procedures and guidance material.
In addition, it provides ICAO with a means to monitor continuously the States’ fulfilment of their safety oversight obligations.
The Universal Security Audit Programme (USAP) assesses Member States’ aviation security oversight systems and ensure effective implementation of security Standards and Recommended Practices.
It operates on nine guiding principles that guarantee fairness, consistency, and respect for State sovereignty while strengthening aviation security worldwide: sovereignty, universality, transparency of methodology, timeliness, all-inclusiveness, consistency and objectivity, fairness, quality, and confidentiality.
Safety was the topmost priority for the IATA during the 2025 conference.
