Special Message to the Senate Urging Ratification of the International Convention on Civil Aviation.

To the Senate of the United States:

In the autumn of 1944, at the invitation of the United States, an International Civil Aviation Conference was held in Chicago. The main purpose and chief result of this Conference was the preparation of an important treaty, the International Convention on Civil Aviation. On March 12, 1945, President Roosevelt referred this Convention to the Senate, with a request for consideration and ratification. It has now become a matter of urgency to this nation, and to many other nations, that the Senate act upon the Convention.

The Convention has two major elements: (1) It restates and codifies the accepted principles of international law pertaining to air navigation; (2) it provides for the establishment of an International Civil Aviation Organization.

The parts of the Convention dealing with the principles of international air law are self-explanatory, and I feel sure that the Senate will recognize the value of the codification.

Similarly, I believe the proposed International Civil Aviation Organization will recommend itself to the Senate. The most important task of this Organization, under the terms of the Convention, will be the promotion of safety of life in the air. In this connection, it will develop international standards for airworthiness of aircraft, for competence of aviation personnel, and for operating practices and facilities on the international air routes. The Organization will also study the economic problems of international air transport; and in certain instances it may be used as an instrument through which such international aviation facilities and services as airports, radio aids, and weather information could be internationally financed.

The Organization will come into existence on a permanent basis when the Convention has been ratified by 26 Governments. It will have its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Meanwhile, as is accepted practice in such undertakings, and in accordance with an Interim Agreement, the Organization has been temporarily established on a provisional basis.

The Provisional Organization is concerned with the same activities which will engage the permanent Organization, but it lacks full powers and its life is limited. It is increasingly apparent that the establishment of the permanent Organization cannot be indefinitely delayed without damage to interests vital to this and other countries. As matters stand, the safety regulations cannot be finished or made fully effective, and the economic activities remain merely exploratory. Meanwhile, as international air traffic rapidly expands, individual nations and airlines are developing their own regulations and operating practices. The guidance and authority of an actively functioning international Organization is urgently needed to assure the uniform standards required for safety, efficiency, and economy.

The Convention makes no attempt to cover controversial questions of commercial aviation rights. It leaves these questions to be settled by other international agreements, which are entirely independent of the Convention, and which provide for the reciprocal exchange of commercial air transport rights. Under authority vested in me, I have actively undertaken to consummate such agreements, in order to assure the most favorable development of international civil aviation. Naturally, agreements of this nature to which the United States is a party are consistent with the requirements of the Civil Aeronautics Act, are valid under its terms, and fully protect the public interest. Under these agreements, before foreign air carrier permits are issued by the United States to foreign airlines, they must qualify under the provisions of the Civil Aeronautics Act.

It is very important to the future of American aviation that the Convention be promptly ratified. At the recent meeting of the Provisional Organization in Montreal, it was agreed that all the nations concerned would aim at March 1, 1947, as the ratification deadline. In order to make it possible for the nations as a group to meet this deadline, it is vital that the United States ratify the Convention during the present session of Congress. At the present time, nine Governments have already ratified the Convention, but it is plain that many others are withholding action pending ratification by this country. Hope of bringing the Convention into effective operation in the near future depends on prompt action by this country, which would stimulate similar early action by other Governments.

We need also to consider the possibility that, if we hold back, the permanent Organization may eventually be established without our participation. In that event, our airlines might be forced to operate in foreign countries under regulations which we had had no part in framing, and which might adversely affect our aircraft and air transport industries. If the interests of this country are to be fully represented in the work of the permanent Organization, the United States, which sponsored the original International Civil Aviation Conference in Chicago, needs to give evidence, by prompt ratification of the Convention, of continued leadership. I feel confident that the Senate will recognize this serious responsibility and notable opportunity.

HARRY S. TRUMAN