Summary: October 22, 2003: Statement to the General Assembly of the United Nations by Ambassador Aldo Mantovani, Deputy Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations on behalf of the European Union. GLOBAL ROAD SAFETY CRISIS ITEM 160 (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey, Iceland and Liechtenstein align themselves with this statement.
Mr Chairman,
The EU welcomes the report of the Secretary General on the need for a global effort to raise awareness about the health impact and social and economic costs of road traffic crashes and injuries. The magnitude of the burden of the road traffic injuries is reflected by the figures cited in the report by the WHO. It is also clear that this public health problem has a major effect on low- and middle-income countries and that it considerably undermines the achievement of sustainable
development.
Despite the gravity of this public health problem, we are convinced that a great deal can be done to prevent and reduce road traffic injuries. Accidents on the roads are preventable and their impact on society can be reduced by the political commitment of the national governments.
We can also do more on an international level to address this problem. To this end, we call for efforts by the UN system to support the development of policies on road safety and to promote the integration of road safety concerns into all the relevant national policies, including those that relate to women, children and the elderly, within the overall framework of sustainable development. In this context the UNDP, WHO, the World Bank and UNICEF, as well as the regional development banks, should
be called upon to play a major role through UNDAF and Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) processes. The UN system can also contribute by providing assistance in the critical area of data collection.
In this respect, the European Union welcomes the WHO initiative to designate Road Safety as the theme for the World Health day that will be celebrated in Paris on 7 April 2004.
The EU attaches great importance to the problem of road safety. This commitment is reflected in the recent adoption by the Commission of the European Road Safety Action Programme for 2003 - 2010, which aims to the overall objective of halving the number of road accident victims by 2010 in the European Community as a whole. The same Action Programme provides for the establishment of a European Road Safety Observatory within the Commission.
The problem of road safety is on the EU agenda. The Ministry of Transportation of the European member states will gather in Verona (Italy) on 24-25 October to discuss priority action lines in order to improve and harmonize security standards in Europe.
Mr. Chairman,
The European Union believes that saving human lives through an effective road safety policy is a difficult challenge but also a moral obligation for all member states.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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