Road safety runs high on the agenda of the countries of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation Organization
Geneva, 18 November 2010 --
Road safety performance in the 12 members of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation Organization (BSEC) is the subject of the “UNECE-BSEC Conference on Improving Road Safety in the BSEC Region” that opened today in Ioannina, Greece. The Conference held under the Greek Chairmanship-in-Office of BSEC and hosted by the Ioannina Chamber and the Hellenic Chambers Transport Association is examining the region’s critical road safety issues. About half of Europe’s road fatalities occur in the countries of the BSEC region.
“Improving road safety is vital for society and a top priority for the United Nations. The need for action to improve global road safety has been stressed at the first global road safety Ministerial Conference in Moscow in 2009 as well as in many General Assembly resolutions, including resolution 64/255 of 2010, which proclaimed 2011-2020 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety”, said Mr. Andrey Vasilyev, UNECE Deputy Executive Secretary, when opening the Conference.
“Never before has the BSEC acted so rapidly to implement a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly. This fast response is demonstrating the importance the BSEC organization attaches to improving road safety in its member states. Progress has been made, but there more work to be done in the BSEC region”, said H.E. Ambassador Leonidas Chrysanthopoulos, BSEC Secretary General.
The UNECE-BSEC Conference is expected to contribute towards the implementation of the United Nations Decade of Action for Road Safety and towards the recently completed UNECE project on “Improving global road safety: setting regional and national road traffic casualty reduction targets”. Representatives of BSEC countries are discussing the global and European road safety issues in the context of five pillars: road safety management, safer road and vehicle design, safer road users and post crash care. They are also reporting on national progress and exchanging best practices.
The delegates of BSEC countries intend to issue a joint “Ioannina Declaration” where they reaffirm the importance of addressing road safety in the region as a matter of urgency and express support for the work of the UNECE and its Road Safety Forum in increasing road safety activities and in advocating greater political commitment to road safety.
Note to editors
The members of the Black Sea Economic Co-operation Organization (BSEC) are: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, the Russian Federation, Serbia, Turkey and Ukraine.
Since 2000, road fatalities in the BSEC members have decreased by 9 per cent. The best performing countries are Greece, where road deaths have declined by almost one-third, Serbia and Turkey with decreases of about one-fourth, and Russian Federation and Bulgaria with declines of more than 10 per cent. Compared to 2000, the number of injured in 2009 in the BSEC region is higher by 43 per cent.
UNECE pioneered road safety activities in the United Nations system 60 years ago. As the only United Nations intergovernmental body concerned with road safety, it focuses its work on improving road safety through developing and updating legal instruments in the areas such as traffic rules, manufacturing and technical inspection of vehicles and transport of dangerous goods. The UNECE legal instruments assist in developing coherent and safe pan-European road networks, harmonizing traffic rules, producing safer and cleaner road vehicles, reducing the risks associated with moving dangerous goods as well as ensuring safe vehicles and competent drivers.
For more information, please visit: http://www.unece.org/trans/roadsafe/conf_ioaninna.html.
Or contact the UNECE Transport Division
Phone: +41 (0)22 917 1837
Email: [email protected]
Ref: ECE/TRANS/10/P16