Civil aviation body ICAO said the figures for the first quarter of 2024 show that airlines can maintain the return to profitability recorded in 2023.
“Member States' efforts to align their responses to the pandemic with the guidance developed by the ICAO Board are critical to the recovery of aviation services,” said Board President Salvatore Sciacchitano.
“Implementation of ICAO’s post-pandemic guidance is now equally important in ensuring the resilience and sustainability of this recovery.”
The agency predicts traffic growth will be about 3% above 2019 levels and could rise by 4% if the pace of recovery quickens on routes that have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels.
ICAO Secretary-General Juan Carlos Salazar said: “The ambitious targets agreed by governments for the decarbonization of air transport by 2050 will help the recovery and future development of global air transport networks to It supports sustainability.”
According to the analysis, air traffic on most routes had already reached or exceeded pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023.
fly high
By the end of last year, the main regional routes that exceeded the 2019 benchmark were trips within Europe. Round trips between Europe and North America, the Middle East, Southwest Asia and Africa. Round trips between North America and Latin America and the Caribbean, Southwest Asia, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Ocean. From the Middle East to Southwest Asia and Africa and back.
With the exception of routes serving Southwest Asia, most Asian international flights will continue to see significantly lower volumes in 2023 compared to pre-pandemic levels.
UN human rights chief slams Ghana's family values bill as 'deeply worrying'
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on Wednesday described a bill in Ghana's parliament that would introduce new criminal sanctions against LGBTQ+ people as “extremely worrying” and called on lawmakers to stop passing it.
Volker Türk said the Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Bill 2024 would criminalize lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual and queer people “simply because they are who they are”. He said that he would expand the scope of his work. The bill also “threats criminal penalties against anyone deemed an ally of LGBTQ+ people,” he warned.
live free from discrimination
“I ask that this bill not be passed. I call on the Government of Ghana to take steps to ensure that everyone, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity, can live free from violence, prejudice and discrimination. ''Türk said.
“Consensual same-sex acts should never be criminalized.”
He expressed deep concern that the bill would criminalize the legitimate activities of human rights defenders, teachers, medical professionals, landlords, and people seeking medical care.
The High Commissioner said: “This bill is contrary to Ghana's own constitution and frees up regional and international human rights obligations and commitments, including leaving no one behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.'' “We will implement the policy accordingly,” he said.
Mr. Turk stressed that the bill is corrosive and will have a negative impact on society as a whole.
He reiterated his office's (OHCHR) commitment to working with the Government of Ghana and its domestic partners to ensure the fulfillment of human rights commitments and obligations.
Russia's 10-year occupation of Crimea is marked by widespread violations
The UN Human Rights Observatory in Ukraine released a new report on Wednesday documenting grave rights violations and violations of humanitarian law in Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014.
The violations have continued for more than a decade since the Russian military occupation, and the Russian government has “unlawfully imposed citizenship requirements, laws and institutions across all areas of life and suppressed dissent and dissent,” the mission said. said in a press release.
The report reveals Russia's efforts to restrict citizens' space and restrict fundamental freedoms. Crimean Tatar leaders, who are seen as opposed to the occupation and Russian policies, have been particularly affected.
Tatars who fled Crimea are prohibited from returning, while many Russians are resettling in Crimea to change the demographics of the region.
“A terrible omen”
“Over the past decade, we have witnessed the efforts of the Russian Federation to impose its Russian language, culture and institutional framework on the Crimean peninsula, while at the same time taking actions to erase the rich cultural, linguistic and religious heritage of the peninsula. have been recorded,” the mission director said. Daniel Bell.
The report said any opposition faced severe reprisals, with some being subjected to rights violations, enforced disappearances, arbitrary detention, and torture.
The findings are “not only alarming, but also a dire harbinger of the devastating and lasting impact that Russia's occupation could have on other occupied regions of Ukraine,” Ms. Bell said.