Regional workshop on road safety management in the Arab countries

 
What:    A regional workshop on road safety management in the Arab countries will be held under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Road Safety, Jean Todt, and in cooperation with the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) and the World Bank, as part of the nineteenth session of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) Committee on Transport and Logistics.
 
When:             Tuesday 27 - Wednesday 28 November 2018 starting at 9:00am
 
Where:            ESCWA Headquarters, Riad el-Solh Square, Beirut, Lebanon
 
Why:      Road traffic crashes cause more than 1.2 million fatalities and 50 million injuries around the world every year and remain the eighth leading cause of death globally. While the world average amounts to 17 fatalities for every 100,000 persons, it is currently as high as 21 fatalities per 100,000 persons in the Arab region.
 
This workshop aims to raise awareness about road safety management among participants coming from various governmental bodies and agencies related to road safety and increase their knowledge in regard to evidence-based, holistic and systematic approaches that can be adopted to improve road safety.
 
It also aims to facilitate consensus among participants on actionable recommendations for enhancing road safety management systems, improving data management, and applying other identified priority road safety actions.
 
Who:     High-ranking officials from the ministries of transport and the ministries of interior in the Arab region. Discussions will be facilitated by international experts with confirmed knowledge and field experience, coming from reputable institutions including UNECE, ESCWA, the World Health Organization (WHO), Fédération Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) and the World Bank. Participants will include representatives of national and regional organizations and institutions in charge of transport and road safety, such as the League of Arab States (LAS) and the Arab Union of Land Transport (AULT), in addition to members of non-governmental organizations and academia.
 
Special features:
 
An exhibition dedicated to raising awareness on road safety, such as the use of seat belts and the effects of impaired and distracted driving. It will be organized in cooperation with the Lebanese National Road Safety Council (NRSC), the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF), the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut (USJ), the Lebanese Red Cross and specialized governmental agencies and relevant road safety NGOs.
 

 
For more information:
 
Mr. Nabil Abu-Dargham, Head of the ESCWA Communication and Information Unit:
+961-70-99 31 44; dargham@un.org  
Ms. Rania Harb: +961-70-00 88 79;  harb1@un.org
Ms. Mirna Mahfouz: +961-70-87 23 72; mahfouz@un.org