Letter to the President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization on Airplane Hijacking.
Dear Mr. Binaghi:
It was deeply gratifying for me to learn that the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization had called upon states to take strong, concerted measures to deter hijacking for international blackmail purposes. The Council's concern with this threat to the safe and orderly growth of international civil aviation, its recognition of state responsibility for taking all appropriate action against this menace, and its acknowledgement of the need for joint action to enforce state responsibility constitute a significant advance in the effort to secure the safety of the international air traveller.
In accordance with the Council's Resolution, I have instructed my representatives to put before the Organization's Legal Committee a draft convention which would implement these principles. It is my hope that the participating states will take rapid and affirmative action on this proposal.
Sincerely,
RICHARD NIXON
[Mr. Walter Binaghi, President of the Council, International Civil Aviation Organization, Montreal, Canada]
Note: The letter was dated October 13, 1970, and released October 14, 1970.
The United States draft convention, calling for international sanctions against nations failing to meet their responsibilities in the suppression of air piracy, was put before the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in late October 1970.
An earlier exchange of letters, released August 13, 1970, between the President and Mr. Binaghi on the subject of hijacking, together with the text of ICAO Resolution A17-1 adopted during the Organization's meeting in Montreal from June 16 to June 30, 1970, is printed in the Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents (vol. 6, p. 1061).
Richard Nixon, Letter to the President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization on Airplane Hijacking. Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/241048