Resolution adopted by the General Assembly
60/5. Improving global road safety
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 57/309 of 22 May 2003, 58/9 of 5 November 2003 and 58/289 of 14 April 2004 on improving global road safety,
Having considered the report of the Secretary-General on the global road safety crisis,
Commending the World Health Organization for its role in implementing the mandate conferred upon it by the General Assembly in its resolution 58/289 to act, working in close cooperation with the United Nations regional commissions, as a coordinator on road safety issues within the United Nations system,
Also commending the United Nations regional commissions and their subsidiary bodies for having responded to the above-mentioned resolutions and to the report of the Secretary-General by accelerating or expanding their road safety activities,
Noting with satisfaction the progress made by the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration as described in the report of the Secretary-General, as well as the road safety initiatives undertaken by relevant United Nations agencies and international partners, Underlining the importance for Member States to continue using the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention as a framework for road safety efforts and implementing its recommendations by paying particular attention to the five risk factors identified, namely, the non-use of safety belts and child restraints; alcohol; the non-use of helmets; inappropriate and excessive speed; and the lack of infrastructure,
Welcoming the proposal of the Economic Commission for Europe to host the first United Nations Global Road Safety Week, in Geneva in April 2007, targeted at young road users, including young drivers,
Also welcoming the proposal to designate the third Sunday in November as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims, in recognition of road traffic victims and their families’ loss and suffering,4 Convinced that responsibility for road safety rests at the local, municipal and national levels, Recognizing that many developing countries and countries with economies in transition have limited capacities to address these issues, and underlining, in this context, the importance of international cooperation towards further supporting the efforts of developing countries, in particular, to build capacities in the field of road safety and of providing the financial and technical support associated with such efforts,
1. Expresses its concern at the continued increase, in particular in developing countries, in traffic fatalities and injuries worldwide;
2. Reaffirms the importance of addressing global road safety issues and the need for the further strengthening of international cooperation, taking into account the needs of developing countries, by building capacities in the field of road safety, and providing financial and technical support for their efforts;
3. Encourages Member States and the international community, including international and regional financial institutions, to lend financial, technical and political support, as appropriate, to the United Nations regional commissions, the World Health Organization and other relevant United Nations agencies for their efforts to improve road safety;
4. Invites the United Nations regional commissions, relevant United Nations agencies and international partners to continue the existing road safety initiatives, and encourages them to take up new ones;
5. Encourages Member States to adhere to the 1949 Convention on Road Traffic5 and the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic6 and Convention on Road Signs and Signals, in order to ensure a high level of road safety in their countries, and also encourages them to strive to reduce road traffic injuries and mortality in order to achieve the Millennium Development Goals;
6. Stresses the importance of the improvement in the international legal road traffic safety norms, and welcomes in this regard the work of the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety of the Inland Transport Committee of the Economic Commission for Europe in the elaboration of a substantial package of amendments to the 1968 Conventions on Road Traffic and Road Signs and Signals;
7. Invites Member States to implement the recommendations of the World Report on Road Traffic Injury Prevention, including those related to the five main risk factors, namely, the non-use of safety belts and child restraints; the non-use of helmets; drinking and driving; inappropriate and excessive speed; as well as the lack of appropriate infrastructure;
8. Also invites Member States to establish a lead agency, on a national level, on road safety and to develop a national action plan to reduce road traffic injuries, by passing and enforcing legislation, conducting necessary awareness-raising campaigns and putting in place appropriate methods to monitor and evaluate interventions that are implemented;
9. Invites the United Nations regional commissions and the World Health Organization to organize jointly, within their resources as well as with voluntary financial assistance from concerned stakeholders from government, civil society and the private sector, the first United Nations Global Road Safety Week to serve as a platform for global and regional, but mainly national and local, activities to raise awareness about road safety issues and to stimulate and advance responses as appropriate for these settings, and to convene a second road safety stakeholders’ forum in Geneva as part of the Global Road Safety Week to continue work begun at the first forum held at United Nations Headquarters in 2004;
10. Invites Member States and the international community to recognize the third Sunday in November of every year as the World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims as the appropriate acknowledgement for victims of road traffic crashes and their families;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-second session on the progress made in improving global road safety;
12. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its sixty-second session the item entitled “Global road safety crisis”.
38th plenary meeting
26 October 2005
Road traffic crashes kill nearly 1.3 million people every year and injure or disable as many as 50 million more. They are the leading cause of death among young people aged 10 - 24 years.
In October 2005, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution which calls for governments to mark the third Sunday in November each year as World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims. The day was created as a means to give recognition to victims of road traffic crashes and the plight of their relatives who must cope with the emotional and practical consequences of these tragic events.
WHO and the UN Road Safety Collaboration encourage governments and nongovernmental organizations around the world to commemorate this day as a means of drawing the public’s attention to road traffic crashes, their consequences and costs, and the measures which can be taken to prevent them.
United Nations Road Safety Collaboration
United Nations In April 2004, the United Nations General Assembly resolution A/RES58/289 on “Improving global road safety” invited WHO, working in close cooperation with the United Nations regional commissions, to act as coordinator on road safety issues across the United Nations system.
First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety
On 19-20 November 2009 the Government of the Russian Federation will host the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. The Ministerial Conference - requested by the UN General Assembly - represents a historic opportunity to make progress on addressing an important public health problem.
First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety
On 19-20 November 2009 the Government of the Russian Federation will host the First Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety. The Ministerial Conference - requested by the UN General Assembly - represents a historic opportunity to make progress on addressing an important public health problem. The Ministerial Conference, which will be held at the International Trade Centre in Moscow, is expected to convene as many as 1000 participants including Ministers of Health, Transport, Education, Foreign Affairs and others; representatives of United Nations agencies; leaders from nongovernmental and civil society organizations; representatives from private companies; and many other of the world's leading road safety experts. It is anticipated that participants will issue a clear call for action.
The objectives of the Ministerial Conference are to :
* Draw attention to the need for action to address the large and growing global impact of road traffic crashes, in particular in low and middle income countries
* Review progress on implementation of the World report on road traffic injury prevention and the UN General Assembly resolutions
* Provide a high-level global multisectoral policy platform to share information and good practices on road safety
* Propose a number of actions for the future, including a discussion of the resources needed to fulfill these actions
A National Organizing Committee - chaired by the Minister of Interior of the Russian Federation - with support from an International Consultative Committee - co-chaired by the Russian Government and WHO - has lead preparations for the Ministerial Conference, including development of the programme and preparation of the declaration to be adopted during the event by all Member States. The members of the UN Road Safety Collaboration are actively involved in planning and supporting the Ministerial Conference. The UN Road Safety Collaboration 's good practice manuals will be important elements in the discussions. The programme will feature statements from dignitaries, plenary presentations on best practices and panel discussions on a wide range of road safety related topics. A road safety exhibit will also be held in conjunction with the Ministerial Conference. It is hoped that the outcomes of the Ministerial Conference will feed into preparations for a Decade of Action on Road Safety which may be decided upon by the UN General Assembly in 2010.
Road traffic injuries
More than 3000 people die on the world's roads every day. Tens of millions of people are injured or disabled every year. Children, pedestrians, cyclists and the elderly are among the most vulnerable of road users. WHO works with partners - governmental and nongovernmental - around the world to raise the profile of the preventability of road traffic injuries and promote good practices related to helmet and seat-belt wearing, not drinking and driving, not speeding and being visible in traffic.
Fuentes:
http://daccessdds.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N05/487/84/PDF/N0548784.pdf?OpenElement
http://www.who.int/mediacentre/events/annual/road_victims/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/roadsafety/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/roadsafety/ministerial_conference/en/index.html
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/road_traffic/en/index.html