Mr. Jean Todt, the Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety
Ms. Olga Algayerova, Executive Secretary of ECE
Ms. Rola Dashti, Executive Secretary of ESCWA
Dear Colleagues,
It is my great pleasure to join you in this important partnership meeting, as road safety continues to be a great challenge for us globally as well as in the Asia-Pacific region.
As all of us are aware, we did not reach the goal of the first United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety (2010-2020) and target 3.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals to halve road traffic fatalities and injuries by 2020.
While the first Decade of Action for road safety ended last year, our work to improve road safety does not end with it.
May I share several initiatives in the Asia Pacific region in which ESCAP is supporting member States through various initiatives to improve road safety as follow up to target 3.6 as well as target 11.2 in providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transport systems for all, and in line with the 2nd Decade of Action for Road Safety from 2021 to 2030.
At the country level, under the UN Road Safety Fund, we are implementing two road safety projects: to improve the driver licensing system in Lao PDR and to strengthen the capacity of the National Road Safety Commission of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
At the regional and global level, we joined a Global Task Force to prepare a Global Plan of Action for the Decade which was launched in October.
At this stage, a study is underway to utilize the lessons learned from the first Decade and consider regional and local issues in line with the Global Plan.
Furthermore, in addressing the challenge of acquiring road safety-related data, we are working with development partners such as the Asian Development Bank, the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile and the World Bank to support member States efforts towards effective implementation of the Asia-Pacific Road Safety Observatory.
Next week, the Asia Pacific Minister of Transport meeting will be convened to discuss and adopt a five-year regional action programme for sustainable transport development. Road safety has been identified as one of the seven key thematic areas for development.
This new action programme underscores the region’s commitment to sustainable transport development, including by improving road safety. However, its successful implementation will not only depend on member States but it will also require support from development partners.
This 5th Partnership meeting is a great opportunity to examine how we can further strengthen our internal collaboration and scale up joint efforts in addressing road safety issues in the second Decade.
I look forward to fruitful collaboration with all UN entities in promoting road safety and saving lives.
Thank you very much.
