For Immediate Release
May 2, 2013
Statement on Qatari Bid to Host the ICAO
Toronto, ON – Today, media have reported that the Qatari government is attempting to gain support in the international community to have the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) relocated to Qatar in 2016. The ICAO, which has been located in Montreal since 1947, is the UN agency that oversees international flight regulations. It is reported that the Qatari government is citing Canada’s support for Israel as a basis for its bid.
In response, David Koschitzky, Chair of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, issued the following statement:
“The Qatari bid is entirely meaningless given that the ICAO’s governing council has already ordered the renewal of its contract with Canada for 2016-2036. Indeed, this whole episode would be funny were it not so tragic. Qatar is a theocratic dictatorship with a notorious record of funding terrorism abroad and violating the basic rights of its citizens and foreign residents. Qatar has a particularly egregious history of persecuting gay citizens (including by imprisonment) and the 90% of its residents who are migrant workers, and find themselves subject to forced labour and even prostitution. Qatar’s attack on Canada’s principled foreign policy record is another sad example of Middle East dictators using the Palestinian cause as a symbol to advance their own interests.”
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The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs is a non-partisan organization that serves as the advocacy arm of the Jewish Federations of Canada.
For more information, please contact:
Jordan Kerbel
Deputy Director, Communications and Advocacy Training
(416) 317-9517