From the UN House in Beirut, and in cooperation with Lebanese actress Carmen Lebbos, ESCWA launched on 17 May the “Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020.” The event was held under the auspices and in the presence of Lebanese Minister of Interior Ziad Baroud, and many diplomats and government officials from ESCWA’s member countries. The UN General Assembly last year adopted a resolution proclaiming the “Decade of Action for Road Safety,” out of concern with the continued increase in road traffic fatalities and injuries worldwide. Through this decade, the UN seeks to reduce these figures or at least check their growth. Baroud said car accidents in the Arab world were taking the lives of about 30,000 people every year, according to the Arab League Council of Interior Ministers, resulting in annual losses of around 25 billion dollars. He added that the root causes of 80 percent of accidents were speeding and drivers’ noncompliance with traffic laws. The solution to this crisis, he asserted, does not lie only with issuing traffic tickets to drivers but essentially with “changing cultural patterns and raising awareness.” In her speech, ESCWA Executive Secretary Rima Khalaf expressed regret over the losses of lives from road accidents, which “can be prevented without much effort or money. This would spare our societies colossal human and material losses.” She added that the five UN regional commissions are cooperating with the World Health Organization and members of the Global Partnership for Road Safety to develop an action plan, together with a series of activities and awareness campaigns throughout this decade. ESCWA introduced this plan into the agenda of the current session of the Transport Committee in order to discuss it and agree on its implementation.
The Executive Secretary noted the coincidence of the Decade’s launch with the opening of the 12th Session of the ESCWA Transport Committee held under the auspices of Lebanese Public Works and Transport Minister Ghazi Aridi. Lebbos said in her opening statement that despite the multitude of causes, “trauma and death remain the same while the loss is colossal.” Enumerating some of the causes of accidents, she mentioned reckless behavior of drivers, impaired driving, or speeding. The Lebanese actress stressed that such accidents cannot be considered products of “fate,” calling for active and real solutions to the problem. She emphasized that her cooperation with ESCWA stems from her belief in the effective and continuous efforts made by this international organization to reduce damages from road accidents and her recognition of the serious effects of the problem on our societies. The launch was also attended by representative of Minsiter Aridi, chief of Land and Maritime Transport at the Transport Ministry Abdul Hafith Qaissi. The Lebanese official tackled the importance of developing plans for an integrated transport system and building modern road networks that contribute to socio-economic development in the Arab world. Qaissi also underlined the importance of safe transport for individuals using these roads. He noted that meetings of ESCWA Transport Committee were annual opportunities to renew energies towards the goal of transport integration among member countries. The launch concluded when Baroud, Khalaf, Lebbos and Qaissi signed the special declaration of the UN Decade of Action on Road Safety 2011-2020. The gathering listened to several songs themed around road safety from a choir of ESCWA staff members.
