The European Civil Aviation Commission (ECAC) in conjunction with the African Civil Aviation Commission (AFCAC) convened a regional Civil Aviation Security (CASE) Workshop on Explosive Detection Dogs (EDDs) at Laico Lake Victoria Hotel from 5th to 6th June, 2018.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, the Director Safety, Security and Economic Regulation, Mr. Samuel Muneeza expressed delight at the opportunity for Uganda to host the event, which brought together security experts from the (AFCAC) partner States to deliberate on important national and international security matters.
He highly commended the ECAC and AFCAC for considering Uganda as worthy hosting partners, which he described as a ‘‘vote of confidence in Uganda’s air transport system’’.
The director stated that aviation related terrorism cases across the globe called for extra vigilance at all levels as Aviation Security is “every body’s responsibility” given the rising threat of terrorism to air transport across the globe. The importance of Explosive Detection Dogs (EDDs) cannot be over emphasized.
The training enabled the aviation security personnel to gain extensive knowledge in the use of Explosive Detention Dogs (EDD’s), ECAC’s work on EDD’s, and to acquire lessons from sharing experiences in best practices.
“Explosive detection dogs have proved to be very reliable in efforts to curb crime as they compliment other explosive detection capabilities such as explosive particulate; and explosive vapor. Explosive detection dogs may also be used to detect explosives in the environment through: screening of cargo, mail and screening of hold baggage, as a complementary method to improve explosive detection,’’ Mr. Muneeza said.
He pledged Uganda’s continued cooperation with ECAC and AFCAC in relation to Aviation security.