Burkina Faso’s Legislative Assembly of the People (ALP) unanimously passed a ratification bill on Monday authorizing the adoption of the 2014 Montreal Protocol, a key international treaty designed to modernize civil aviation security and bolster legal mechanisms for prosecuting in-flight offenses.
Adopted in April 2014, the Montreal Protocol updates the 1963 Tokyo Convention on Offences and Certain Other Acts Committed on Board Aircraft to address modern security challenges. Presenting the bill to lawmakers, Foreign Affairs Minister Karamoko Jean Marie Traoré, alongside Minister Delegate Bêbgnasgnan Stella Eldine Kabré/Kaboré, explained that the protocol significantly expands state jurisdiction over flight-related crimes. While the original 1963 convention restricted prosecutorial authority primarily to the country of aircraft registration, the updated instrument grants legal authority to both the landing state and the operator’s host state.
Foreign Minister Traoré noted that ratifying the protocol enables Burkina Faso to implement robust domestic security measures against acts that jeopardize aircraft and passenger safety. Government officials highlighted that the treaty strengthens judicial cooperation with international partners while creating an effective legal framework to deter, prosecute, and penalize in-flight violence and disruptions. Burkina Faso originally participated in the 2014 diplomatic negotiations in Montreal, and this legislative approval marks the formal integration of the treaty into the nation’s domestic legal architecture.
HO/te/Sf/lb/abj/APA