The Special Envoy visited Asia at the beginning of the August to to hear about in-country challenges; explore areas for collaboration and to advocate for adoption of UN road Safety Conventions.
From 30 July to 3 August in Malaysia, the Special Envoy conducted meetings with the Minister of Transportation and encouraged the Government of Malaysia to adopt the 1968 Convention on Road Traffic as well as the 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals. He was also invited to participate in the 128th Session of the IOC opening Ceremony in Malaysia.The Special Envoy also met with Mr. Rick Towle of UNHCR, Mr. Tony Capon of International Institute of Global Health, Ms. Juanita Joseph, the UN coordinator, and the French Ambassador in Kuala Lumpur.
On 4 and 5 August, the Special Envoy travelled to Myanmar and met with Ms. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, who expressed her willingness to participate in the Special Envoy’s mission for road safety. The Special Envoy also met with the EU Ambassador in Yangon (His Excellency Roland Kokia) and Dr. Thant Myint-U. During his meetings in Myanmar, the Special Envoy again encouraged adoption of the UN Conventions on Road Traffic and on Road Signs and Signals. The Special Envoy also met with the Regional Minister of Transportation for the Yangon region. Mr Todt also met with the Myamar UN Country Team’s representatives, such as ILO’s Mr. Steve Marshall; IOM’s Mr. Kieran Gorman-Best; OCHA’s Mr. Mark Cutts; UNAIDS’ Mr. Eamon Murphy; UNDP Country Director Mr. Toily Kurbanov; UNESCO’s Mr. Sardar Umar Alam; UNFPA’s Ms. Janet Jackson; UN-HABITAT’s Mr. Bijay Karmacharaya; UNHCR’s Mr. Guiseppe de Vincentiis; UNIC’s Mr. Aye Win; WFP’s Mr. Domenico Scalpelli; UNICEF’s Mr. Bertrand Bainvel; UNOPS’ Mr. Sanjay Mathur; WHO’s Dr. Jorge M. Luna; and UNODC Country Manager Mr. Jochen Wiese.
During the meetings in Thailand, the Special Envoy emphasized the need for Thai authorities to improve enforcement of the international road safety legislation which has already been enacted in the country. While in Thailand, the Special Envoy also met with the French Ambassador in Bangkok. Also, in Thailand, Mr Todt met with the following members of the UN Country team: Dr. Duc Tran, Senior Resource Management Officer; Mr. Christipher Ankersen, Security Advisor for Thailand and Chief of Security; Ms. Maria Aurora Mendoza-Goudstikker, Assistant Regional Representative (HCR); Mr. Bijaya Rajbhandari, UN Resident Coordinator, a.i. and Representative of UNICEF in Thailand; Mr. Kuttiparambil Beena, Chief, HIV/AIDS; Mr. Devanish Dutta, Youth & Adolescent Development Specialist; Ms. Pham Thanh Hang, Programme Officer (UNISDR); Mr. Hirotaka Kawakami, Special Assistant to the UN Resident Coordinator (UNDP); Dr. Richard Brown, Acting Representative to Thailand (WHO); Ms. Sushera Bunluesin, National Professional officer, Emergency and Humanitarian Action (WHO); and Mr. Kritsiam Arayawongchai, National Professional Officer, Road Safety (WHO)