Doha: The issues of refugees and stateless persons occupied center stage at the sixth plenary session of the ICAO Facilitation Conference (FALC 2025), held in Doha. Participants addressed the challenges associated with inadmissible persons and deportees, emphasizing the importance of developing practical and humane solutions to ensure freedom of movement and respect for human dignity.
According to Qatar News Agency, speakers at the session, chaired by Representative of Romania on the ICAO Council, Maria Cristina Liliana Ionita, emphasized that issuing travel documents to refugees and stateless persons contributes to regulating their legal movement and reducing human trafficking and transnational crime, calling for increased funding for relief and humanitarian agencies.
They pointed out that conflicts in some countries drive individuals to migrate in search of safety, while the difficulty of issuing paper documents and poor coordination between systems are challenges that face both countries and airlines, particularly given the high costs associated with returning people denied entry to their countries of origin and the impact this has on the reputation of both countries and airlines.
In this context, Assistant Director of Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Interior Brig. Gen. Saad Salem Al Dosari, stressed that Qatar's participation in the ICAO Facilitation Conference reflects its commitment to strengthening international cooperation to ensure the movement of individuals across borders while taking into account security and humanitarian conditions.
Al Dosari pointed out the need to develop advanced digital systems for information exchange and to support effective partnerships between the public and private sectors to address the issues of those denied entry, calling for innovative recommendations to ensure a safer and more humane travel environment.
For his part, Head of the Legal Identity Unit, International Organization for Migration (IOM), Nelson Goncalves, emphasized that the legal framework related to nationality often hinders the issuance of identity documents, pointing to the need to facilitate interstate systems and improve the efficiency of consulates.
Goncalves emphasized the importance of supporting processes that preserve the dignity of individuals, highlighting the role of digitization and partnerships with the private sector in expediting and ensuring the accuracy of procedures.
The second day's agenda included various discussion sessions on the integrity of travel documents and border control, combating human trafficking and irregular migration, providing assistance to victims of aircraft accidents and their families, capacity building, and countries' failure to implement standards.
The four-day conference, held this year under the theme: "Facilitating the Future of Air Transport: Cooperation, Efficiency, and Inclusivity," follows ICAO's designation of 2024 as the "Year of Facilitation," making it particularly significant as a starting point for a more advanced and responsive future for air travel.