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Country Visit in Chile

On 1 and 2 February 2018, the Special Envoy held the following bilateral meetings with government officials and representatives from UN agencies in Santiago. 
H.E. Ms. Gloria Hutt, incoming Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile and Mr. Carolyn Robert, IADB Representative

The Special Envoy met with incoming Minister of Transport and Telecommunications, who is expected to assume duties in March 2018, at the start of the new Chilean administration. The Special Envoy shared about his mandate and key priorities, highlighting regional road safety workshop held in Buenos Aires in March 2017, aimed to strengthen regional dialogues and collaboration on road safety. Minister Hutt shared about government initiatives and policies, highlighting those focusing on zero tolerance for drinking and driving and speed control in urban areas. The Minister further shared her vision to integrate road safety into the public health framework to ensure holistic approach. The Special Envoy encouraged Chile’s accession to United Nations road safety conventions, suggesting that it would contribute to stronger road safety governance. In conclusion, the Special Envoy shared about the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund.  
United Nations Country Team in Chile
The Special Envoy provided an overview of his role and activities in line with four key priorities of his assigned mandate. He shared about the progress on the establishment of the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund and the UN Internal Road Safety Strategy aimed at reducing road traffic fatalities within UN operations, underscoring the instrumental role of country-based agencies in implementing the strategy, once officially launched later this year. Members of the United Nations Country Team (UNTC) outlined road safety initiatives in Chile, including a WHO project addressing drink-driving and speeding in three cities in Chile. They further shared about an on-going reform of the metropolitan transport system, with recent introduction of electric buses. UNCT team shared about challenges in implementing UN-developed recommendations by the Chilean government. All agreed that strengthening collaboration between UN agencies, including with ECLAC would ensure stronger impact. 
The following members of the UN Country Team participated in the meeting: 
Silvia Rucks, UN Resident Coordinator
Zohra Abaakouk, World Health Organization
Alejandro Manon, UN System in Chile Coordination Officer 
Ricardo J Sanchez, UNDP Environmental Unit
Azhar Jaimurzina, ECLAC
Gabriel Pérez Salas, ECLAC
Meeting with UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
The Special Envoy has shared about his visit to Latin American region, in the context of his role and mandate. The need for a stronger collaboration of regional commissions was strongly emphasized along with the importance of coordination of implementation of road safety strategies on the ground. The Special Envoy shared about updates related to the establishment of the UN RSTF and its upcoming launch in April 2018. The UN Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) shared about the analytical work being carried out in the region, resulting in developing programs and recommendation to reduce road traffic fatalities. To improve implementation of recommendations by governments, ECLAC emphasized the need for a stronger public policy enforcement and introduction of regional safety standards, to avoid disparity on the national and city level. The Special Envoy encouraged stronger regional collaboration on data collection to be led by ECLAC and based on the work carried out by the Ibero-American Road Safety Observatory (OISEVI). 
The following ECLAC representatives participated in the meeting:
Joseluis Samaniego, Director of Sustainable Development and Human Settlements Division 
Azhar Jaimurzina, Chief Natural Resources and Energy Unit 
Ricardo J. Sanchez, Senior Economic Affairs Officer, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division
Gabriel Pérez Salas, Economic Affairs Officer, Natural Resources and Infrastructure Division
Romain Zivy, Chief of Office, Office of the Executive Secretary
H.E. Caroline Dumas, French Ambassador in Chile
The Special Envoy paid a courtesy visit to French Ambassador in Chile. The Special Envoy gave an overview of his role and mandate. He further briefed the Ambassador about the United Nations Road Safety Trust Fund and steps on its establishment in time for the General Assembly Meeting in April 2018. 
Chile has been one of Latin America’s fastest-growing economies in recent decades, according to the World Bank, with the population of 17, 91 million inhabitants. According to the WHO, Chile has strong laws addressing three of five risk factors: child-seat, helmet and seat-belt use. However, the drink-driving and speed limit laws need to be improved. The WHO estimates 2,179 road traffic fatalities annually, suggesting a fatality rate of 12.4 deaths per 100,000 population. Chile is a contracting party to the 1968 Convention on Road Signs and Signals. The lead road safety agency is National Traffic Safety Commission (CONASET).