Verdrag tussen de regering van het Koninkrijk der Nederlanden ten behoeve van Aruba en de regering van de Verenigde Staten van Amerika inzake douane-voorinspectie

The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in respect of Aruba

and

the Government of the United States of America, (hereinafter referred to as the “Parties”),

considering that air transport Preclearance by officials of U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of the Government of the United States of America, which is the procedure of conducting in Aruba, inspection of Travelers, Goods, Aircraft Stores, and aircraft, on Eligible Flights destined nonstop from a designated airport in Aruba to the United States, facilitates travel between Aruba and the United States while enhancing the security of both Parties;

desiring to replace the Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in respect of Aruba on Preclearance, signed at Washington DC on December 2, 1994 as amended, as well as the Agreement on Preinspection between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in respect of Aruba, signed at Oranjestad on June 16, 1987, the former Agreement having suspended the operation of the latter Agreement for the period in which the former has been in force;

acknowledging that Air Carriers and Private Aircraft operating at a designated airport in Aruba, including United States carriers, would continue to be eligible to request preclearance at that location; and

recognizing that Preclearance being conducted in Aruba provides a homeland and national security benefit, as well as benefits the Parties by facilitating travel to the United States,

Agree as follows:

Article I. Definitions

For the purposes of this Agreement:

• 1. „Air Carrier” means a commercial enterprise that provides public transportation by aircraft for remuneration, hire or other consideration;

• 1. „Aircraft Commander” means the person serving on a Private Aircraft who has command of its operation and navigation;

• 1. „Aircraft Store” means items in storage on aircraft, including its supplies and equipment, and merchandise for retail sale;

• 1. „Airport Operator” means the entity that is responsible for the management, operation and development of any airport in Aruba at which Preclearance is provided in accordance with this Agreement;

• 1. „Aruba” means Aruba and its Government (including any Aruban government agency associated with or providing assistance to Preclearance operations, as appropriate, such as with the Security Service Aruba (SSA), as the only agency authorized to perform investigations and vetting on persons that apply or fulfill security sensitive functions in Aruba);

• 1. „Baseline” means the level of services performed and the number of Preclearance Officers permanently stationed at Queen Beatrix International Airport performing those services, as reflected in an understanding to be entered into between the United States and the Airport Operator, that are not subject to recovery of costs for such services by the United States;

• 1. „Cargo” means commercial Goods, whether transported by a person or a commercial carrier;

• 1. „Compliance Agreement” means an agreement between the United States and an entity offering sales to travelers, including on-board precleared flights;

• 1. „Eligible Flight” means any commercial scheduled or charter flight, including ferry flights (crew only), and any Private Aircraft flight, that has requested and been approved by the United States for Preclearance, and that departs from the Preclearance Area, but does not include military (including military charter) flights;

• 1. „Enrollment Center” means a facility staffed by Preclearance Officers for the purpose of conducting processes required for enrollment of persons in a United States trusted traveler program;

• 1. „Goods” means personal effects, baggage, wares of any description, animals and plants and their products, currency and other monetary instruments, electronic media, electronic devices, and documents in any form (including those stored in electronic media), and other items transported by the aircraft to the United States, including Aircraft Stores or aircraft equipment;

• 1. „In-Transit” means arriving in the territory of Aruba from a third country with the intent to immediately transfer to an aircraft for departure to the United States;

• 1. „Invasive Personal Search” means a body cavity search or a medical x-ray search;

• 1. „Partial Body Search” means the removal of some of the clothing of a person by a Preclearance Officer to recover material evidence suspected to be concealed on the person’s body or in the clothing itself;

• 1. „Post-Clearance” means the clearance of aircraft, Travelers, Aircraft Stores, and Goods upon arrival in the territory of the United States;

• 1. „Preclearance” means the procedure of conducting in the territory of Aruba the examination, search, and inspection of Travelers, Goods, aircraft, and Aircraft Stores required for entry/admission into the territory of the United States;

• 1. „Preclearance Area” means a designated area by Aruban authorities following consultation with the United States within which Preclearance officers exercise the powers and authorities outlined in this Agreement including:

• a). the aircraft that is destined nonstop for the United States, including the immediate perimeter of the aircraft;

• b). the queuing area used exclusively for Preclearance purposes clearly demarcated in front of the primary inspection area;

• c). the baggage make up area or other area where travelers’ baggage or other Goods are delivered to Preclearance Officers for inspection and any areas in which such inspection may occur;

• d). primary and secondary examination areas, including any areas used for radiation detection;

• e). administrative areas used by the United States in or on the airport or general aviation premises

• f). connecting corridors and all designated conveyances for precleared Travelers and Goods used for transportation from the terminal to the departing mode of transportation as reflected in an understanding to be entered into between the United States and the Airport Operator. When travelers cannot board a departing mode of transportation by means of a connecting corridor or designated conveyance, the Preclearance Area shall also include a clearly demarcated area leading to that mode of transportation for the period of time during which boarding takes place.

• g). the departure lounges for transportation bound for the United States; and

• h). connecting corridors and all designated conveyances for precleared Travelers and Goods used for transportation between sterile areas of terminals;

• 1. „Preclearance Facility” means the physical inspection and administration infrastructure, including any offices and examination areas as well as any equipment used to conduct Preclearance;

• 1. „Preclearance Officer” means a United States official of DHS (including a legal successor agency) designated by the Government of the United States to carry out Preclearance in Aruba;

• 1. „Preclearance Operational Support Personnel” means a United States official from DHS or any successor agency designated by the Government of the United States to support preclearance operations in Aruba;

• 1. „Private Aircraft” means any aircraft engaged in a personal or business flight which is not carrying passengers or Cargo for commercial purposes;

• 1. „Traveler” means any air passenger or crewmember seeking entry or admission to the United States using Preclearance; and

• 1. „United States” means the United States of America and its Government (including any United States agency associated with Preclearance operations, and in particular CBP), as appropriate.

Article II. Scope

Article III. Aruba Obligations and Authorities

• a). Designate the boundaries of the Preclearance Area subject to mutual concurrence with the United States in writing and supported through the use of drawings or maps.

• b). Permit Preclearance Officers to wear official uniforms of the United States for the performance of their duties in the Preclearance Area and while transiting to or from the Preclearance Area or other locations pursuant to their official duties; and

• c). Provide a continuous presence, during all hours of operation of the Preclearance Facility, of armed Aruba law enforcement officers in the Preclearance Area for safety, security, and force protection.

• d). Provide the United States with biographic and other identifying information of any person who requires access to the Preclearance Area for purposes other than to travel to the United States, such as access required in the performance of that person’s official duties, to conduct U.S. background screening of such persons in order to provide a notification to Aruba whether such person satisfies the United States’ criteria for access to the Preclearance Area for such persons in the performance of their duties. The process for such communication and consultations shall be reflected in a separate understanding between the United States and Aruba to be concluded prior to the implementation of any activities under this Agreement.

• a). Permit Preclearance Officers:

• (i). To carry out Preclearance of persons, Goods, aircraft, and Aircraft Stores on Eligible Flights;

• (ii). To determine procedures for carrying out inspections;

• (iii). To determine utilization of resources, including staffing levels and availability of staff to conduct Preclearance for a particular flight; and

• (iv). To, in the scope of their official duties, carry and use intermediate force devices and restraint devices solely in the Preclearance Area, except with prior written authorization that allows carriage in other areas, in accordance with Aruban laws, regulations, and use of force instructions. Prior to the implementation of any activities under this Agreement, a separate understanding between the United States and Aruba on the carry and use of intermediate force devices and restraint devices shall be concluded.

• b). Require persons who enter the Preclearance Area to report to a Preclearance Officer without delay and present Goods in that person’s possession, including Goods that form part of that person’s baggage, and, with respect to Travelers, undergo Preclearance;

• c). Authorize the installation and operation of such communication and inspection aids and equipment in the Preclearance Area as the United States determines it requires, including canine, radiological and nuclear detection devices, and baggage image and x-ray devices;

• d). Establish with the United States mutually acceptable written procedures regarding the operation of Preclearance, including written procedures that address resolution in the event of a positive alarm from an inspection aid used for biological, radiological, or nuclear preclearance screening of aircraft, Travelers, or Goods; and that address the continued physical security of Preclearance;

• e). Secure and dispose of any illicit or illicitly trafficked biological, radiological, or nuclear materials detected during Preclearance in accordance with written procedures developed in consultation with the United States;

• f). Upon request of Preclearance Officers, provide medical assistance to and access to medical isolation facilities for Travelers subject to Preclearance who are suspected of having a communicable disease proscribed under United States public health laws and regulations or who otherwise present a threat to public health;

• g). Provide training for Preclearance Officers on the laws, regulations and use of force instructions of Aruba pertaining to the authorities conferred in this Agreement;

• h). In the event of an outage or malfunction of crucial equipment or other aid used to conduct Preclearance or other circumstance that the United States determines prevents the provision of Preclearance services in the existing Preclearance Area, and as mutually determined by the Parties in writing, permit Preclearance Officers to operate with the same authorities as they have in the Preclearance Area within another designated area at an airport at which Preclearance is authorized pursuant to this Agreement;

• i). Permit Preclearance Officers and Preclearance Operational Support Personnel to enter the airport through staff and employee entrances, and if any screening of Preclearance Officers and Preclearance Operational Support Personnel is required, it shall occur in a separate and private area; and

• j). Permit DHS employees or contractors who are not assigned to the Preclearance Area and other official U.S. Government personnel visitors to obtain proper ID badges and enter and undergo screening at the employee entry and screening points to gain access to security sterile areas.

• a). Provide a continuous presence, during all hours of operation of the Enrollment Center, of armed Aruban law enforcement officers in the Enrollment Center for safety, security, and force protection.

• b). Permit the United States to:

• (i). interview applicants seeking to participate in a United States trusted traveler program;

• (ii). collect information (including biometric information) from applicants as needed by the United States to evaluate membership in such program.

Article IV. United States Obligations and Authorities

• a). Upon a determination by the United States that there has been a compromise to the security or sterility of the Preclearance Area or any aspect of Preclearance, that there is no United States carrier operating at an airport at which Preclearance is authorized pursuant to this Agreement, or that there is non-compliance with the terms of this Agreement, to suspend Preclearance until such time as the issue has been resolved to the satisfaction of the United States;