Maryam Al Balooshi’s Elected Chair of ICAO’s Environmental Protection Committee

BW News Web Desk:  Engineer Maryam AlBalooshi (Baloch), Senior Director of the Environmental Affairs Office at the “General Civil Aviation Authority of the United Arab Emirates,” has been elected as the Chair of the Environmental Protection Committee of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

This election took place during the 14th meeting of the committee and representatives from 34 member countries attended the event. As a result, Maryam Al Balooshi becomes the first specialist from the Middle East region to take on the leadership of this international technical committee.

ICAO is a specialised agency of the United Nations, headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Its mission includes developing global standards, policies, and strategies in the fields of civil aviation, flight safety, and mitigating the environmental impacts of the aviation industry.

The role of chairing the ICAO Environmental Protection Committee involves key responsibilities in shaping the future of the aviation industry, reducing emissions and environmental impacts of flights, balancing economic requirements with environmental protection and supporting the sustainable growth of this global industry.

The Baloch Activists Campaign reported that this international achievement comes at a time when, in Iran, there continues to be systemic neglect of talents, particularly the talents of Baloch women and other oppressed nations. Despite their academic and professional qualifications, these women are often denied access to national and international opportunities due to structural discrimination.

Maryam Al Balooshi’s election as a Baloch woman from the Middle East highlights that the lack of equal opportunities is not due to a lack of capability, but rather results from discriminatory policies of the occupying states against Balochistan.