ESCWA Transport Committee Calls for Prioritizing Road Safety

ESCWA wrapped-up the twelfth session of its Transport Committee with recommendations that highlighted road safety, an issue member countries were called to consider a priority, implementing by such the eponym UN Decade of Action launched last week. The committee had convened at the UN House in Beirut, on 17-19 May. A slew of officials gathered for the event, including representatives from ESCWA’s 14 member countries, and regional as well as international organizations. Participants in the transport committee drew up recommendations that were agreed upon and raised to ESCWA. These notably dealt with road safety, which was under much scrutiny throughout the meeting’s three-day deliberations, given the joint opening of the Committee and the launch of the UN Decade of Action for Road safety 2011-2020. On this particular issue, the conferees called on ESCWA’s member countries to place the issue of road safety among their priorities and urgent affairs. They also asked these countries to join forces and coordinate efforts with ESCWA Secretariat to implement this plan of action and sketch out a time table to implement the clauses of the Moscow Declaration on Road Safety (2009). The meeting egged these countries to form and activate national committees, institutions or councils comprising relevant stakeholders to improve road safety, and support human and financial resources towards this goal. The recommendations also touched upon the Integrated Transport System in the Arab Mashreq (ITSAM), namely the components of this system such as the international road agreement in the Arab Mashreq. The Sultanate of Oman was invited to join this agreement, whereas the United Arab Emirates was called upon to ratify it. On the same note, countries that have still not signed the railway agreement in the Arab Mashreq, i.e. Iraq, Oman and Qatar, were invited to do so. Kuwait, which has not ratified the agreement, was called on to do so. The meeting requested that member countries continue coordinating and cooperating with the ESCWA Secretariat, to put together national studies on hurdles facing the activation of national transport and trade facilitation committees. These studies are to mirror clear and practical strategies and plans.