ICAO 10067:2016

INTRODUCTION

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations and was created with the signing in Chicago, on 7 December 1944, of the Convention on International Civil Aviation. ICAO is the permanent body charged with the administration of the principles laid out in the Convention. It sets the standards for aviation safety, security, efficiency and regularity, as well as for aviation environmental protection, and encourages their implementation.

ICAO’s membership comprises 191 Member States. Its Headquarters are in Montréal and it has regional offices in Bangkok, Cairo, Dakar, Lima, Mexico City, Nairobi and Paris as well as a regional sub-office in Beijing.

ICAO has a sovereign body, the Assembly, and a governing body, the Council. The Assembly, composed of representatives from all Member States, meets every three years, reviews in detail the complete work of the Organization, sets policy for the coming years and approves financial statements issued since the last Assembly. It also decides on the triennial budget. The Assembly last met in October 2013.

The Council, composed of representatives from 36 States, is elected by the Assembly for a three-year term and provides continuing direction to the work of ICAO. The Council is assisted by the Air Navigation Commission, the Air Transport Committee, the Finance Committee, the Committee on Unlawful Interference, Human Resources Committee, the Committee on Joint Support of Air Navigation Services and the Technical Co-operation Committee.

The Secretariat has five main divisions: the Air Navigation Bureau, the Air Transport Bureau, the Technical Co-operation Bureau, the Legal Affairs and External Relations Bureau, and the Bureau of Administration and Services. The Finance Branch and Evaluation and Internal Audit Office are also part of the Secretariat and report to the Secretary General. The regional offices, working under the Secretary General’s direction, are primarily responsible for maintaining liaison with States to which they are accredited and with other appropriate organizations, regional civil aviation bodies and the United Nations Regional Economic Commissions. The regional offices promote implementation of ICAO policies, decisions, Standards and Recommended Practices (SARPs) and regional air navigation plans and provide technical assistance when requested.

In accordance with Article 12.4 of the Financial Regulations, I have the honour to submit to the Council for consideration and recommendation to the Assembly the financial statements of ICAO for the year ended 31 December 2015. As required by Article XIII to the Financial Regulations, the External Auditor’s opinion and his report on the 2015 financial statements are also submitted to the Council and Assembly as well as my comments (reflected in the Secretary General’s Comments) thereon.

Unless otherwise indicated, the financial statements and the accompanying note disclosures, which form an integral part of these financial statements, and this report, are presented in thousands of Canadian Dollars (CAD).