A/76/PV.91 General Assembly

Before we proceed to the formal part of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on improving global road safety, I would like to invite members to view a video.

The Assembly will now hear the remaining speakers for the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on improving global road safety. Before we begin, I would like to remind delegations that as set out in resolution 75/308, statements will be limited to three minutes for individual delegations and five minutes for statements made on behalf of a group of States.

I would first like to acknowledge the presence of a multi-stakeholder high- level delegation representing my country. On behalf of President Jair Bolsonaro and Minister of Infrastructure Marcelo Sampaio, Brazil welcomes all the global efforts to promote road safety and sustainable mobility and acknowledges the importance of this theme’s presence on the global agenda for the decade. To achieve that goal, I am honoured to present our national plan for reducing road-traffic deaths and injuries, which is structured around six pillars  — road-safety management, safe roads, vehicle safety, road-traffic education, post-crash response and law enforcement. All of the plan’s 154 actions will be implemented using a holistic, broad and comprehensive approach. The concepts of safe systems and a vision zero also form the basis of the plan, which is aligned with the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety and the Sustainable Development Goals. It is also important to highlight that the plan was developed and validated with strong social participation, including that of more than 100 experts representing some 50 government and non-government bodies and entities from all parts of the country, such as the Ministry of Health, the Federal Road Police, the Road Safety National Observatory and the Pan American Health Organization, many of whom have joined us here today. We recognize the huge challenges ahead given the continental size of our country, with its regional and local diversity and many nuances. To succeed in that mission, we need commitment, engagement and partnership, and I can assure the Assembly that we in Brazil have that. All 27 states are committed, and they have formed several working parties. The numbers of road deaths in Brazil have been falling since 2014, and we expect to save 86,000 lives by the end of the decade. We are confident that we are on the way to a brighter and safer future for our people. Over the next couple of days I will be pleased to give the Assembly more information about the plan, whose motto is “Together we save lives”. As my colleague Secretary of Health Surveillance Arnaldo Medeiros, who is here with us, would say if he were sharing this rostrum with me, saving lives is at the core of the Ministry of Health, but so is promoting people’s quality of life. That is why we are pleased that Brazil’s plans for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety are in line with the shift in the road safety paradigm proposed in the Global Plan. The change in the way we approach road safety today is in many ways a result of the contributions of the health sector and is aligned with a comprehensive concept of health. Actions to reduce road-traffic injuries also promote physical activity, mental health and air quality, which are factors in tackling non-communicable diseases (NCDs). In that regard, Brazil’s plan on NCDs and injuries embraces the Sustainable Development Goals and has established the goal of halving road-traffic mortality. It also aims to qualify health surveillance data to address social determinants of health such as environment and sustainable mobility. At this meeting, Member States are being urged to guarantee a decade of action and delivery. Brazil has already started — partnerships, convergences and integrated actions are a reality in our country. The main goal is to save lives, but more than that, we are seeking healthier, more equitable and inclusive road traffic for everyone. And we will achieve that.

I would like to express my delegation’s appreciation to the President for convening this high-level meeting on global road safety, on the important theme “The 2030 horizon for road safety: securing a decade of action and delivery”. Indeed, the many challenges posed by the devastating impact of the pandemic and other natural and human dynamics are not lost when it comes to keeping track of progress and possible options to better secure our roads. Nigeria, as Africa’s most populated country, with a road network of an estimated 205,000 kilometres and some 11.8 million registered vehicles, has been dealing with a series of road-traffic-related challenges. An ever-growing population, now of more than 200 million people, coupled with rapid urbanization and increasing commercial and economic activities, often creates vehicular conflict and congestion as well as other mobility-related challenges that adversely affect the ultimate goal of ease of mobility. The Government of Nigeria has therefore taken a holistic approach to objective interventions for securing the safety of the roads, which led to our active participation in previous global ministerial road-safety conferences held in Moscow, Brasilia and Stockholm. Among its efforts to implement the United Nations Decade for Action for Road Safety, as well as the Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety, and in keeping with the Sustainable Development Goals, my Government has proceeded with the implementation of a five-pillar strategy focused on road-safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safer road users and post-crash care. Our commitment to those five pillars led to Nigeria’s accession to six United Nations conventions and agreements on road traffic and creation of a Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), as a strong lead agency with regulatory and enforcement capacity in 1988, long before the concept of a road-safety lead agency was popularized worldwide. The strengthening of the FRSC as lead agency through policy approvals and legislative backing, and the inclusion of road-safety financing in the annual national budget, are among the steps that we have taken to foster road safety. We also have regional road-safety development under the platform of the West African Road Safety Organization and the National Road Safety Advisory Council, under the leadership of the Vice-President of the Federation. Other measures set up around the pillars include the regular conduct of road-safety inspections and audits, the establishment of a road-transport safety standardization scheme for the regulation of public transportation and safety administration, the installation of speed limiting devices and the enforcement of standards, the introduction of a safe-to- load programme for the safe transportation of dangerous goods by road and the regulation of freight and haulage activities. We have also introduced road-safety studies in primary and junior secondary education to ensure that we have responsible future road users, established a call centre for the real-time coordination of emergency responses and traffic recovery services and inaugurated an emergency ambulance service scheme for rapid on-scene intervention and the evacuation and stabilization en route to hospitals of people involved in road-traffic accidents. Furthermore, the Government has embarked on a massive awareness campaign and support programmes on drunk driving in partnership with the Beer Sectoral Group and Guinness Nigeria Plc, as well as pan-African road-safety enlightenment activities, training, certification and deployment of paramedics and trauma care experts nationwide. We express our appreciation to the World Bank and other partners who have supported us in data collection and road-safety strategies. Today we have better data collection from all over the nation. The strategies I have outlined, with an effective command-control centre and emergency ambulance services, have reduced fatalities from road crashes. I believe those measures will soon crystallize in a reduction of mortality and fatality that will be illustrated at subsequent meetings. In conclusion, my delegation would like to reaffirm the Government of Nigeria’s commitment to the advocacy and prioritization of safer roads for all through collaborative engagement and partnerships nationally, regionally and globally.

My country attaches great importance to road safety as one of the pillars of development. Accordingly, President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani of Mauritania emphasized the issue in the electoral programme based on which the people elected him to lead our country. It included an ambitious plan for creating a modern, safe infrastructure. In 2012, the Mauritanian Government adopted a national road-safety strategy inspired by our national transport strategy and strategic poverty reduction framework. In 2013 we established a national road- safety council, chaired by the Prime Minister, which is responsible for coordination among road-safety stakeholders and for ensuring safety and preventing road accidents, with the goal of reducing traffic accidents by 25 per cent by 2023. We also set up a general road- safety group to oversee those policies during the first Decade of Action for Road Safety 2011-2020, announced in March 2010, and the Second Decade 2021-2030, announced in September 2020. Among other things, the group is responsible for monitoring and ensuring road-safety systems, establishing traffic violations and reviewing various documents required for road traffic and land transport. In Mauritania, as in Africa in general, poor road safety goes hand in hand with considerable population growth, climate change  — which is affecting every aspect of life — and a continuing increase in the number of vehicles on the road, all of which have created challenges that can be met only with continued and effective international coordination. We in Mauritania are determined to tackle the challenges of road safety. However, as we all know, road safety is everyone’s concern, and the joint efforts of the international community are the best way to achieve tangible results. In conclusion, we very much appreciate the holding of this high-level meeting for the improvement of road safety and the Assembly’s adoption of the political declaration on road safety (resolution 76/294) as well as the recommendations and proposals of Member States. We look forward to sharing our expertise with them.

I am delighted to be taking part in this conference on behalf of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. We would like to point out that road accidents are one of the main challenges facing the world. Their primary cause is the growing use of private vehicles in cities, especially where there is limited public transportation, which could otherwise offer alternatives to reduce private vehicle use and diminish road accidents considerably. If we are to achieve accident-free societies, we need joint efforts at the international level. We should work together to find appropriate solutions through scientific and practical studies, as well as to learn from, replicate and expand successful experiences in order to improve road safety. Ensuring road safety involves taking every possible preventive measure to avoid accidents and injury to drivers, pedestrians and cyclists. Road safety is about preserving lives, reducing injuries and curbing economic costs. Every year more than 1.3 million people lose their lives in traffic accidents, including children and young people under the age of 29. Under its Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia seeks to achieve its goal of reducing traffic-accident fatality rates by 2030. We have been able to reduce the number of deaths by two thirds so far, to a rate of 13.17 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in 2021, down from 27 per 100,000 in 2016, which is a reduction of more than 50 per cent. We have worked to achieve this goal on various fronts, from road construction and controlling traffic violations to awareness-raising and education. In addition, we have been developing our infrastructure and addressing black spots while expanding automated monitoring and intelligent transport systems with a view to reducing traffic accidents. We have moved from the planning phase to effective implementation. We have been able to achieve results on the ground through our initiatives, which have considerably improved road safety, increased awareness and met all the requirements for road safety. One of the most important is our road-safety initiative, which aims to reduce accidents and improve our road network so that various road users are safe. In conclusion, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia believes in the importance of joint collaboration and of making efforts to improve road safety at the international level, and we support studies and recommendations in that regard. We should also benefit from the various experiences of countries worldwide to reduce the number of deaths caused by traffic accidents.

I am the Executive Secretary of the National Transport Safety Commission, the Government agency responsible for road safety in Chile. It is an honour for me to represent my country at this great event, bringing together road- safety leaders from all over the world. It is also an honour to be able to tell participants about the latest advances we have made and the significant challenges still before us as we seek to reach the ambitious goal of halving the number of traffic deaths and serious injuries. Chile has a national traffic-safety strategy for the period from 2021 to 2030, which was crafted collaboratively in response to the call of the United Nations to embark on a new Decade of Action. The strategy is a road map for our current transport safety policy and was formulated by various public and private entities, representatives of civil-society organizations, associations of traffic-accident victims and mobility and road-safety focal points in academia. It incorporates the safe system approach and establishes a vision zero, in addition to setting as a goal for 2030 a 30 per cent reduction in traffic fatalities and serious injuries in our country. That goal is absolutely achievable if we implement the measures contained in the strategy. Realizing those measures and initiatives requires not only coordination and collaboration with various entities but also great vision and courage, translated into solid political leadership. The new Government of President Gabriel Boric Font has taken the strategy as its road map for road safety at a time when we are still dealing with many challenges in achieving a vision zero and in ensuring that we will no longer have to mourn the loss of lives in traffic accidents. The Government is firmly committed to road safety, as stated in its programme. During this period we want to address challenges by taking action in a number of areas, including by using technology to put in place automated speeding surveillance; strengthening the National Transport Safety Commission, which I currently head, by providing it with more tools and financing for achieving the goals outlined in our strategy; improving the enforcement of our recently enacted no-chat law on distracted driving; empowering consumers by providing more safety information tools to help with decisions when purchasing a vehicle, as well as other protective equipment, and raising that equipment’s standard; and creating a funding scheme for improving infrastructure around schools and promoting restricted traffic areas. We know that in order to achieve all this we need the support of all sectors, and that coordination with the private sector and civil-society organizations is key to meeting our goals and challenges. That is why we greatly value any alliance focused on improving road safety. We want to dream of a safer country for everyone who lives in it. We do not want to experience more pain as a society from losses of loved ones, which leave families destroyed, dreams shattered and projects unfinished because of something that is totally avoidable. Road safety is a first step towards more sustainable mobility, with which we can continue to advance untiringly towards a fairer, more inclusive and safer country for all.

It is an honour to speak on behalf of the State of Suriname at this high-level meeting on road safety. I am the Director of the Road Safety Authority of Suriname, which serves under the Ministry of Justice and Police as the focal point for optimizing road safety and coordinating activities related to road safety in general, and which works independently and collectively with all other actors responsible for actions and measures that benefit road safety. It also plays a role in harmonizing several information systems in order to gather reliable data and traffic statistics and maintain an early-warning surveillance system able to identify the most dangerous road situations and take prompt measures to ensure safety. Suriname is committed to achieving the goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety and the Sustainable Development Goals, and improving road safety is one of our Government’s policy priorities. While all road users should be safe on the road and do their part, the Government of Suriname will do everything in its power to improve road safety. We have taken several actions to prevent and control accidents, morbidity and mortality linked to traffic. However, the situation is not what it should be, as every year we see a lot of traffic accidents with fatal consequences. We therefore value this high-level meeting in which we share experiences and expertise with regard to road safety. Our road-safety policy and action are based on our strategic plan for the period from 2018 to 2021, which we intend to upgrade in line with the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. We used the well-known model of the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization, based on five pillars — road-safety management, safer vehicles, safer road users, post-crash response and a safer driving environment — to develop our strategic plan and associated action plan in an attempt to keep our roads, mobility and vehicles safer while also introducing permanent road-safety knowledge and education by giving special attention to children and adolescents in order to ensure that they become road- safety-minded at an early age. We support the political declaration (resolution 76/294) and are looking forward to better cooperation among countries on road safety. Finally, we would like to thank the Organization for this valuable high-level meeting, which we believe will bear fruit.

I now give the floor to the representative of the European Union, in its capacity as observer.

My thanks to the President of the General Assembly for hosting this very important high-level meeting on road safety and for providing me with the opportunity to address it. I am delivering this statement on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its member States. The candidate countries North Macedonia and Albania, as well as the Republic of Moldova, Georgia, Monaco, San Marino and Türkiye align themselves with this statement. So many lives continue to be cut short by road- traffic crashes right across the globe. The numbers are unacceptable, and it is clearly a global phenomenon that also affects countries with comparatively safe roads. The EU welcomes the fact that Governments from around the world have recognized the need to act and have declared unanimously — through resolution 74/299 — a Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, with the explicit target of reducing road deaths and injuries by at least 50 per cent during that period. The EU has been a strong advocate of the General Assembly resolution on road safety and the recent Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. We must now use the momentum to push for real international commitment and implementation on road safety. We strongly welcome the Global Plan’s call on Governments and partners to implement an integrated safe-system approach. In the EU, we have fully embraced a safe system as part of our EU Road Safety Policy Framework for the second decade. This holistic approach is built on cooperation, good governance and shared responsibility. It addresses all important areas for road safety, meaning safer vehicles, safer roads, safer driving, protecting vulnerable road users and better post-crash care. We are working hard with our 27 member States to ensure that the plan is fully implemented throughout Europe. The EU also takes its wider responsibilities seriously. We believe that today the international focus should be on supporting developing countries where poor road safety also creates a significant economic burden, apart from its tragic human costs. Together with other international partners, the European Union continues to play a global role, providing funding for road-safety initiatives throughout the world, particularly Africa. The EU is proud to have been one of the early funders of the United Nations Road Safety Fund and is pleased to announce that we have found additional multi-year funding to support that important fund. This year we will contribute close to €1 million, and a number of EU member States are also contributing to the fund. The EU has also significantly increased its support for road-safety activities in Africa. Under the EU Global Gateway, we will invest in the infrastructure of the strategic trade corridors in sub-Saharan Africa to create sustainable, smart and safe networks in all modes of transport. We are supporting the African Transport Policy Programme, which has a strong focus on road safety. Through our research and innovation programme Horizon Europe we will help implement a safe-system approach in Africa, and we have secured funding from the EU’s new development and international cooperation budget for additional road-safety initiatives. Last but not least, the EU welcomes the adoption of the political declaration on road safety (resolution 76/294) today (see A/76/PV.90). We agree that renewed efforts are required if we are to deliver on the objectives and targets of the Second Decade of Action. The EU is ready to play its part in delivering on the commitments in the political declaration. Together the EU and our partners can build better partnerships, particularly with non-governmental organizations and local initiatives, and collectively, we need to leverage and help, especially in the global South. The Assembly can count on the EU for that.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the European Union and its 27 member States, as well as Albania, Andorra, Australia, Canada, Colombia, Georgia, Guatemala, Japan, Monaco, New Zealand, North Macedonia, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States. We are taking part in the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on improving global road safety to reaffirm our commitment to continued action through 2030 on all road-safety-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We condemn the unjustifiable, unprovoked and illegal war of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, which flagrantly violates international law, including the Charter of the United Nations. Since the first day of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, Ukraine’s national road infrastructure and road safety have sustained heavy damage. According to an assessment by the Government of Ukraine, more than 23,000 kilometres of road infrastructure and 300 bridges have been destroyed or damaged since 24 February. The scale of destruction continues to grow daily. In line with Assembly resolutions ES-11/1 of 2 March and ES-11/2 of 24 March, we urge the Russian Federation to cease its military aggression and immediately, completely and unconditionally withdraw all its forces from Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including its territorial waters. We also condemn the complicity of the authorities of Belarus in the aggression against Ukraine. In full support and solidarity with Ukraine and its people, we condemn any indiscriminate shelling and use of explosive weapons by the Russian forces in Ukraine that damages or destroys critical civilian infrastructure, including roads, bridges, fuel warehouses and vehicles essential to the delivery of essential services. We also firmly condemn Russia’s destruction of civilian vehicles and humanitarian convoys, which has violated international humanitarian law and resulted in killings, casualties and property destruction. We are alarmed by the fact that Russia’s forces have repeatedly blocked civilian traffic travelling to safe places out of Russian- controlled and conflict-affected areas. We are equally concerned by reports of fatal traffic accidents caused by Russian soldiers in Russian-controlled areas. All who are responsible for such accidents must be held accountable. We want to emphasize our deep concern about the fact that Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine has already had an extremely negative impact on road safety, undermining Ukraine’s efforts to reach the road-safety-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as well as having the potential to slow improvements in other areas in the near future. We remain committed to working together to promote global road safety as an important element of our common efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

This high-level meeting on the theme “The 2030 horizon for road safety: securing a decade of action and delivery” aims to close the gaps, confront the challenges and assess the progress made in realizing the targets under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development related to road safety. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), traffic accidents are one of the leading causes of death and injury in the world. In fact, every year nearly 1.3 million people die and millions more are injured or disabled as a result of road accidents. And while statistics enable us to assess the level of road insecurity on a global and national level, these numbers, in all their coldness, never reveal the pain of families, the shattered destinies and lives. In addition to being a cause of human tragedy, such accidents weigh heavily on our health services and national economies. Morocco made road safety a national priority in 2005 by adopting its first national road-safety strategy, covering the decade from 2004 to 2013, enabling us to get a handle on the number of road accidents in our country and change the previous upward trend in annual traffic accidents. In addition, in 2006 my country established an interministerial committee on road safety chaired by our Head of Government, and adopted a highway code by enacting a law that came into force on 1 October 2010. Our evaluation of this first strategy led to our development of a new strategy for the period from 2017 to 2026 through a participatory approach involving all stakeholders, with the objective of halving the number of deaths from road accidents by 2026. In addition, in January 2020 we established a national road safety agency with the aim of providing a more effective response to safety issues on Moroccan roads. As a governmental tool, the agency has ensured effective coordination between the relevant actors from the public and private sectors and civil society in implementing national policy and achieving a safe transport system. Road safety in Morocco is a public policy and a genuine work in progress that has enabled us to build a wealth of valuable experience, know-how and a profession aligned with international standards. In that context, my country integrated road-safety education into the primary school curriculum this year. It is also important to note the key role played by civil society and international institutions, including the World Bank and the World Health Organization, through the reports they publish on road safety. Given our firm belief in the fundamental role of civil society in this area, in 2015 we organized the fourth global meeting of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) with the Global Alliance of NGOs for Road Safety. And in 2018, in collaboration with the World Bank, WHO, the International Automobile Federation and several international and regional organizations, Morocco organized the first African Road Safety Forum, whose ministerial declaration ultimately resulted in the establishment of the African Road Safety Observatory. Morocco supports the political declaration (resolution 76/294) adopted this morning (see A/76/PV.90) and is committed to intensifying its efforts to implement the political declaration and undertake the actions recommended in that regard. The implementation of the political declaration will contribute effectively to improving road safety around the world. We hope that the high-level meeting will be an opportunity to determine the way forward to effectively reduce road deaths and injuries worldwide. It is time to take further action to protect road users and make our roads safer through the commitment of every individual and the mobilization and determination of public authorities.

Mexico thanks the President of the General Assembly for convening this meeting. We also thank Secretary-General António Guterres, the World Health Organization and the Special Envoy for Road Safety for their statements (see A/76/PV.90). As has been mentioned, although progress has been made in the area of road safety, we still face significant challenges in achieving the goals and commitments of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety. Our efforts must be focused and directed towards halving the number of deaths and injuries caused by road crashes worldwide, providing access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transportation systems for all and improving road safety, particularly by expanding public transportation, and paying special attention to the needs of people in vulnerable situations, including women, children, people with disabilities and the elderly. Every year, traffic accidents cause nearly 1.3 million preventable deaths and injure some 50 million people, making them the leading cause of death for children and young people worldwide. Nine of 10 road traffic deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, and one in four is a pedestrian or cyclist. These figures are alarming and require greater commitment and coordination on the part of all relevant actors, particularly in the private sector, as well as the involvement of civil society in line with the actions and programmes implemented by Governments. My country is committed to addressing those challenges and achieving the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In coordination with authorities at every level, as well as experts and civil-society organizations, Mexico therefore approved the incorporation into its Constitution of a human right to mobility and road safety. That led to our enactment in May of a new general law on mobility and road safety, which among other things guarantees public road users’ right to mobility and safe travel, taking into consideration the hierarchy of mobility and criteria for accessibility. It is in that connection that I would like to acknowledge the presence here of two legislators and two representatives of civil society who have been actively involved in this vital issue. The new law is at the forefront of road-safety issues and guarantees safe mobility while giving priority to pedestrians, cyclists and public transportation. It provides measures to prevent the use of alcohol or any other drug, psychotropic substance or narcotic while driving a vehicle, and establishes standardized speed limits throughout the country. In order to reduce by half the number of deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents, the Government of Mexico has rolled out national programmes and strategies that include training and awareness-raising on accident prevention, with a focus on the most vulnerable road users. We also consider it essential to take into account the connections between road safety and physical and mental health, sustainable development, education, gender equality and women’s empowerment, sustainable cities, environment and climate change, as well as the broader social determinants of road safety and the interdependence between the various Sustainable Development Goals and their integrated and indivisible targets. That holistic approach is reflected in the political declaration we adopted at the beginning of this meeting (resolution 76/294) and offers a vision for the future of mobility that promotes health and well- being, reduces inequalities, protects the environment and benefits all people. The President of the General Assembly can count on Mexico’s strong support in promoting the implementation of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for Road Safety and in achieving a reduction in road-traffic fatalities of at least 50 per cent by 2030, as well as fulfilling the provisions of the political declaration and all the road-safety-related goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

We are grateful for the holding of this key event on a subject as important as global road safety. Peru has been working to strengthen its internal institutional arrangements to meet the goal of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety of reducing by at least 50 per cent the deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents worldwide between 2021 and 2030. To that end, my Government has been developing a national road-safety policy, which aims to improve people’s quality of life through a strategic plan for reducing traffic accidents, optimizing health services for road- accident victims, reducing the percentage of road sections with a high concentration of traffic accidents and prioritizing sustainable and safe transportation. There are also plans to establish a traffic and road safety agency as the technical governing body responsible for leading our road-safety management, as well as developing, monitoring and evaluating national road- safety strategies and interventions. We also recognize the importance of including a range of stakeholders in the policy development process and have therefore been holding a series of working groups in which Government agencies responsible for road safety interact with transport unions, private companies, civil society and universities to coordinate outlining and formulating the future agency’s scope. Today’s meeting is of special political significance and is one more step in a long process. We therefore commend the leadership shown on the issue through the holding of the high-level global conferences of 2009, 2015 and 2020. In addition, we recognize and appreciate the work of delegations, as well as the valuable work of Ambassador Nagaraj Kakanur, the President’s Chief of Staff, in facilitating the version of the political declaration (resolution 76/294) that we adopted this morning (see A/76/PV.90). Peru reiterates its commitment to continuing to work in collaboration and coordination in order to achieve the objectives of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety.

China congratulates the General Assembly on its holding of a first high-level meeting on global road safety, which has great significance for our ability to achieve the road-safety-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Road safety is an important aspect of achieving sustainable development. Thanks to the effects resulting from the pandemic and other factors, the world’s economic recovery has been difficult and decades of development gains in various countries have been eroded. The challenges faced by developing countries, such as investment and capital shortages, are even more acute. In the field of road-transport infrastructure in particular, these countries urgently need scaled-up support from the international community. In September 2021, President Xi Jinping of China put forward the Global Development Initiative (GDI), aimed at promoting the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals and encouraging the international community to refocus on development issues and renew its efforts. The Initiative has had active support from more than 100 countries and international organizations, including the United Nations. Taking development financing, connectivity in the digital age, industrialization and industrial cooperation as priority areas, the Initiative will vigorously promote pragmatic cooperation by all in areas such as transport infrastructure, in order to promote road safety and sustainable development. On 24 June, President Xi chaired a high-level dialogue on global development at which leaders of Brazil, Russia, India and China  — the BRIC countries  — and of relevant emerging markets and developing countries discussed global development plans and reached a broad consensus. The dialogue gave the further implementation of the GDI some strong political momentum, with President Xi calling on all parties to jointly foster a new era of global development featuring benefits for all, balance, coordination, inclusiveness, win-win cooperation and shared prosperity. He also announced a series of steps by China to implement the Initiative, including the establishment of the Global Development and South- South Cooperation Fund, increased cooperation and input from China in the United Nations peace and development trust fund and the establishment of a global development promotion centre, among other things. China looks forward to working with all parties to speedily follow up on the outcomes of the dialogue, build flagship projects, strive actively to achieve results as soon as possible and further contribute to implementing the 2030 Agenda, addressing the challenges through solidarity and cooperation and building a global community of development. Road safety affects all of our lives. Implementing the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety is an arduous task that will require cooperation and increased investment. In particular, developing countries should not be left behind. China, as a country with vast road- transport infrastructure, will continue to put the safety of its people first, based on its national conditions, strive to modernize its road-transport governance capabilities and stand ready to enhance its exchanges and cooperation with other countries and stakeholders so as to contribute to the effective implementation of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety.

Egypt welcomes the convening of this important meeting on improving global road safety, which renews the international commitment to the implementation of target 6 of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3, aimed at reducing the global number of deaths and injuries from road-traffic accidents. Tragically, such accidents lead to the deaths of nearly 1.3 million people every year, which has a deep impact on societies and adds to the socioeconomic burdens of the victims’ families. Our meeting today is important because it coincides with the international debate on improving the implementation of the SDGs, especially in the light of the challenges imposed by the coronavirus disease pandemic and other international problems that require concerted efforts to ensure a comprehensive and sustainable recovery. Egypt continues to promote all basic services for its citizens in line with its Vision 2030 policy. In that context, we have implemented a national project to develop our roads as part of our efforts to develop our entire infrastructure and public facilities, particularly given our expanding new urban and industrial communities. We are aware that transportation systems and roads are pillars of socioeconomic development. The project includes improving the quality and reach of our roads, and has now put Egypt in 28th place in the global road quality index for 2021, an improvement of 90 places compared to 2014. The Government has also prioritized improving the efficiency of roads using new, modern technologies such as recycled asphalt. We have developed safe and sustainable public transportation; implemented smart transportation systems to improve safety and security rates; worked to reduce and monitor road-accident rates; implemented road-safety legislation; enacted legislation on traffic violations and promoted safety-awareness criteria, such as the use of seat belts and children’s car seats, with a view to maintaining the safety of all road users. Egypt welcomes the political declaration on improving global road safety (resolution 76/294) adopted today (see A/76/PV.90), especially its important language on the need to ensure international cooperation and promote supply chains relevant to road safety, including medical supplies. In addition, it covers the importance of exchanging best practices, technology, technical support and successful implementation mechanisms in that regard. Egypt hosted the fourth Smart Transport, Logistics and Traffic Fair and Forum in November 2021 with a view to exchanging expertise in the transport sector, and would like to assure the Assembly of its readiness to continue to support all international efforts in that context.

At the outset, I would like to thank the President for organizing this important event on the very pertinent issue of global road safety. More than 1 million people around the world lose their lives to road-traffic accidents every year, and the loss of life and high treatment costs impose a heavy social and economic burden on victims and their families. Such accidents have a direct impact on national economies, and the coronavirus disease pandemic has further worsened the situation and shifted the focus. Apart from the enormous human suffering, the continuing numbers of road accidents worldwide may prevent us from achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target of halving deaths from road-traffic accidents by 2030. Nepal is highly vulnerable to road-traffic accidents and is making sincere efforts regarding road safety to address that. The Constitution incorporates a safer transport policy, while we have put a vehicle and transport management act and rules in place and are considering a new road-safety bill and updated national road-safety action plan. Priority has been given to multi-stakeholder engagement, particularly with young people, the private sector and civil society. Road safety is clearly not just a transport challenge. It is a development challenge that has a direct impact on people’s health, human capital and economic growth. In that context, I would like to highlight the following points. First, the effective implementation of the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety is crucial to achieving SDG target 3.6, for which engagement with the relevant road-safety actors is vital. Secondly, the adoption of a whole-of-Government approach is critical to road-safety management and to ensuring safer vehicles, safer road users and a robust post-crash response. Similarly, a safe transport system is interconnected with SDG targets on sustainable cities and communities and on climate action. Our efforts must therefore align in that direction. Thirdly, partnership with the private sector is equally important in road-safety financing solutions, the use of compulsory insurance schemes and the establishment of credit facilities for hard and soft road-safety infrastructure. Fourthly, development partners and donors should scale up much-needed financial and technical support, including for the United Nations Road Safety Fund, to bridge financial gaps for vulnerable countries. In conclusion, making roads safer for everyone everywhere demands strong partnerships, political commitment and collective action. Nepal is committed to making every effort to achieve the road-safety-related targets of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

My delegation welcomes the adoption of the political declaration (resolution 76/294) of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety, and would like to thank the Office of the President of the General Assembly, as well as the delegations of Côte d’Ivoire and the Russian Federation, whose major efforts in this process should not go without mention. For the past decade, road accidents have been a serious public health problem, especially in low- and middle-income countries. In our region of Africa, the growing road-safety crisis is a major development problem. Although it is the world’s least motorized region, Africa has the highest road-traffic fatality rates, and if we zoom into my country, Eritrea, the number of road accidents, which is high considering the size of the population, results in major socioeconomic consequences for the families left behind. There is in fact a direct link between road safety and poverty reduction. The need to improve road safety at all levels is therefore critically important to us, and the Government of Eritrea acknowledged the importance of putting in place policies and action plans early on. We were concerned about the alarming situation in 1992, just a year into our independence, so we established a committee to try to reduce the ever-increasing road- traffic accidents. The Eritrean Road Traffic Safety Association was established in June 2008 to replace that committee. It includes Government and non-governmental strategic partners. Its major task is creating public awareness, knowledge and harmony among road users by conducting various campaigns on road-traffic safety strategies. Membership in the Association is voluntary, although it is anticipated that all drivers of trucks, buses and taxis will become active members. The Association has been conducting activities concerned with safety and sustainable road transportation systems since its inception, with the ultimate aim of achieving zero deaths caused by road accidents. Many projects and campaigns have been initiated and successfully executed, most of them involving students. In 2010 we launched educational campaigns in the capital city of Asmara aimed at all students, from preschoolers to secondary students. Safety traffic clubs have been established in some secondary schools in order to continue the safety education. The eventual target is to incorporate traffic- safety education into the school curriculum. The Government continues to refine regulations, ensure their implementation, raise public awareness and improve the design and operation of transport systems. There is strict enforcement of regulations on vehicle standards and traffic laws. For example, most accidents occur when cyclists and pedestrians are also using the road and are mainly due to driver negligence, with nighttime being the most hazardous time of day. The Government has therefore mandated the use of reflective materials by cyclists to ensure visibility and reduce traffic-related risks. Road accidents in mountainous regions such as those in Eritrea are mainly due to blind turns and lack of visibility. The Road Traffic Safety Association, working with its partners, has installed mirrors to help improve visibility. The Land Transport Authority, which comes under the Ministry of Transport and Communication, is the lead agency for road safety and is funded from the national budget. Eritrea is rather unique in terms of the popularity of cycling, as a means both of transportation and symbolic expression, and cyclists have therefore been an important target group for the various awareness campaigns on road safety. The data show a sharp decline in fatalities and injuries in 2020 and 2021, but that is attributable to the restrictions instituted in the wake of the coronavirus disease pandemic. Adding bike lanes, strictly enforcing a ban on the use of earphones when riding bicycles and making reflectors on bicycles obligatory, among other measures, have had a positive effect on road safety, reducing injuries and lowering mortality. Societal understanding of the various causes of road-traffic accidents is also critical, and various initiatives are being implemented, focusing on public awareness with the aim of enhancing the knowledge of road users in order to bring about behavioural change. Raising awareness among young people, who are the primary victims of road accidents, remains key. Eritrea’s police force continues to conduct public campaigns in schools to raise awareness and make youth agents of change. Although the fatalities caused by car accidents have lessened in the past four years, Eritrea still has a lot of work to do. We strongly believe that most of the deaths caused every year by road accidents are preventable. We all need to make serious investments so that we can achieve a global shift in the number of road accidents, injuries and deaths.

At the outset, I would like to commend the President for convening this high-level meeting on global road safety, which is indeed important and timely considering that road safety remains an acute problem to this day. As has already been mentioned by other speakers, road-traffic crashes are a leading cause of death and injuries among all age groups, especially young people, with millions of fatalities. Along with the human suffering they cause, crashes have a serious impact on national economies, resulting in losses as high as 3 per cent of annual gross domestic product in some countries. We therefore need urgent, scaled-up action to increase global cooperation for the effective implementation of evidence-based strategies and innovative approaches. The Government of Uzbekistan attaches great importance to road-safety issues, which have been elevated to the highest level of State policy. In February of this year, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan held a special cabinet meeting dedicated solely to road-safety issues. In April, we adopted a presidential decree on measures aimed at reliably ensuring people’s safety and dramatically reducing road-traffic deaths. Based on that action- and results-oriented document, a special task force led by the Prime Minister has been established to apply a comprehensive, multisectoral approach to addressing problems of road safety. In addition, we have launched a nationwide safe road and safe pedestrian programme, which, among other measures, stipulates the following. First, it requires the development of new traffic rules that are in full conformity with international standards; secondly, it establishes a revised system of driver training, retraining and testing; thirdly, it mandates the improvement of road infrastructure, bicycle lanes, pedestrian paths and sidewalks; fourthly, it institutes the digitalization of traffic management; and fifthly, it integrates science-based approaches to road safety and the establishment of a research centre for streamlining efforts in that area. In sum, our priorities are fully aligned with the goals of the Decade of Action for Road Safety, the Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We strongly believe that international and multi-stakeholder collaboration is an important prerequisite for achieving road-safety-related targets, both at the national and global levels. In that regard, we hope that the political declaration (resolution 76/294) adopted today (see A/76/PV.90) will serve as an important guiding document in achieving our ambitious target of preventing at least 50 per cent of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030.

I thank the President for convening this important high-level meeting. The issue of road safety has a direct link not only to public health but to economic and social development, as reflected in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goals 3 and 11. It is deeply worrying that the number of road accidents, injuries and fatalities has increased in recent years, and it is even more disconcerting that the poor and those in vulnerable situations are disproportionately affected. It is therefore vital to address road safety in a holistic way. As a developing country, India’s economic growth is also contingent on a rapid expansion of infrastructure. India has the second largest road network in the world, totalling 5.89 million kilometres. The sale of automobiles and the movement of freight by road are growing rapidly and demand a stronger road network. Despite the pandemic and lockdown, in 2021 the construction of national highways reached its highest level for the past five years. India also faces challenges that differ from those of developed countries, largely due to a highly heterogeneous traffic mix. We are therefore acutely conscious of the importance of addressing road safety and reducing the adverse consequences of traffic accidents. India remains committed to reducing road- accident deaths by 50 per cent by 2030, as agreed at the third Global Ministerial Conference on Road Safety, held in Stockholm in February 2020. To that end, the Government of India is actively engaged in efforts to enhance road safety through a multifaceted strategy based on the four Es — education, engineering, enforcement and emergency care. They include better and safer road engineering, more effective legislation, enhanced regular safety standards, driver training, improved trauma care and public awareness- raising. We are establishing a dedicated agency for overseeing road-safety-related issues. Policing unsafe road behaviour is also a priority, and our recent enactment of a motor vehicle law has helped to improve the overall road-safety ecosystem. The Government is also working closely with relevant civil-society organizations in that endeavour, and we are providing financial assistance to non-governmental organizations for road-safety advocacy and programmes. Research activities on road safety are being encouraged, including by identifying priority areas, providing adequate funding for research in such areas and establishing centres of excellence in academic institutions. With assistance from the World Bank, the Government is working on implementing an integrated road accident database to provide a systemic solution that will enable the capture and geotagging of road accidents and will analyse the data thereby collected and allow simultaneous linkages with multiple users, leading to enhanced road safety in India. The Government of India aims to encourage corporate investment in the road sector and introduce business-friendly strategies that will balance profitability with effective project execution. We are also working with the private sector to enhance the creation of social awareness and consciousness as well as boost social responsibility about road safety. We firmly believe that international cooperation is vital to assisting developing countries in effectively addressing issues of road safety. The availability of adequate financial resources, technical assistance, capacity-building, the sharing of best practices and advocacy is therefore crucial. We are confident that the deliberations at this high-level meeting and the adoption of the political declaration (resolution 76/294) will further accelerate efforts to improve global road safety, including by supporting developing countries through capacity-building and the provision of financial and technical support for their efforts.

Italy welcomes this high- level meeting on a subject of extreme importance for the safety and welfare of our communities. We thank the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary- General and World Health Organization Assistant Director-General Stewart Simonson for their opening interventions (see A/76/PV.90). We are also grateful to Special Envoy for Road Safety Jean Todt for his statement and for his passionate, dedicated and relentless work. While aligning ourselves with the statements of the European Union and Lithuania, we would like to add the following remarks in our national capacity. The staggering number of deaths and injuries caused by road-traffic crashes is a major public health problem. It has been rightly said that road accidents take the form of a silent epidemic. The analogy is appropriate, especially if we consider that road-traffic injuries, like a virus, hit the most vulnerable in our societies, being a leading cause of death for children and young adults worldwide. To stop that virus, we need to remove the obstacles that are slowing our achievement of the global road-safety goals. These obstacles are a lethal mix of poor infrastructure, inadequate legislative frameworks, lack of investment and funding, inefficient safety features and protective equipment and scant risk awareness on the part of road users. The key actions listed in the political declaration (resolution 76/294) — whose adoption we welcome — can make a huge difference if Member States implement them with the necessary degree of urgency. They represent a last call for achieving the targets of the Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety and successfully concluding the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety by 2030. As Governments, we have the primary responsibility for addressing road safety, and Italy is determined to be up to the task. Earlier this year, we launched our new national road-safety plan, which is fully in line with the safe-system approach endorsed by the United Nations to ensure safer multi-modal transport and active mobility, with the goal of reducing road fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030. We have identified 44 strategic actions to strengthen our legislative framework, enhance the control and suppression of traffic violations, improve infrastructure in both urban and rural areas and increase communication campaigns and awareness- raising. All of those actions will be closely monitored to ensure their effective implementation. We are also keen to share our experience and best practices with other Member States in order to promote capacity-building and international cooperation. Speaking of international cooperation, we would like to commend the World Health Organization for providing technical support to reduce fatalities and injuries from road-traffic crashes in low- and middle-income countries. That is particularly welcome and necessary if we consider that road safety, having a direct impact on public health, poverty eradication and socioeconomic development, is clearly intertwined with the overall efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Last but not least, let us not forget that this battle requires the engagement of all relevant stakeholders  — Governments, international organizations, the private sector and civil society. Only with a whole-of-country approach will we be able to ultimately bridge the gaps and make our roads as safe as we want them to be.

Ukraine aligns itself with the statement made by the representative of Lithuania on behalf of a group of States regarding the situation of road safety in Ukraine resulting from Russia’s aggression. In my national capacity, I would like to thank the President for convening this high- level meeting and for his efforts at the final stage of preparations to fix the damage to the process resulting from Russia’s presence as a co-facilitator. Ukraine has always supported international and national efforts in the area of road safety and attaches great importance to upholding its commitments regarding all the road-safety-related targets under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The targets were the basis for our road-safety improvement strategy for the period until 2024 that the Government of Ukraine adopted on 21 October 2020. Our ambitious goals, in particular those of reducing road-traffic deaths and injuries by 30 per cent and improving road-safety management, were being successfully implemented up until 24 February. That progress has been undermined by the Russian troops invading Ukraine, who have used Ukrainian roads for their offensive attempts, fired on civilian vehicles attempting to escape from conflict- affected areas and destroyed road infrastructure with heavy artillery, mines and missiles. The joint statement I mentioned described the scale of the destruction. Let me remind the Assembly of some of the details. More than 23,000 kilometres of roads and 300 bridges have been destroyed or damaged since 24 February, and the numbers are growing every day. Furthermore, by targeting Ukrainian civilian infrastructure and roads in particular, Russia is further aggravating the global food crisis through the resulting disruptions to supply chains. While Ukraine joins in the consensus on the political declaration of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety (resolution 76/294), we therefore believe that it does not fully reflect the current state of play in global road safety. The implications of the deliberate large-scale destruction of the road infrastructure of one United Nations Member State by another, and the killing of peaceful civilians by occupying forces, are not confined to the boundaries of the country affected by the aggression. We regret that the political declaration lacks a reference to this major factor dramatically affecting global road safety, which seriously undermines its credibility and relevance. I would like to remind the Assembly that it is wrong to believe that consensus means unanimity. Consensus implies the lowest common denominator enabling a decision to be approved and therefore does not reflect the full reality on the ground. We should not be swayed by that misperception. The lowest common denominator suits only a part of our membership and will not enable us to achieve the necessary breakthroughs and higher standards of global road safety. In that regard, while decisions adopted by a recorded vote also suit only a part of the membership, they contain stronger messages that inspire us to move forward. We therefore consider that addressing the road-safety-related implications of the Russian war against Ukraine should be the focus of the United Nations, its General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council, the Secretary-General and his Special Envoy for Road Safety.

At the outset, I would like to express the Algerian delegation’s gratitude to the President for his tireless efforts in preparing for this high-level meeting, which were crowned by today’s adoption of a political declaration (resolution 76/294) highlighting our common vision for road safety and the best way of implementing the Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety. The topic of today’s meeting is closely linked to the broader framework for sustainable development, since in terms of annual human losses, road accidents have an impact on societies that amounts to between 3 and 5 per cent of global gross domestic product. Like every other country, Algeria is not immune to this issue, with statistics showing that 2,643 people died and 11,479 people were injured in road accidents in our country in 2021, and with 93 per cent of those accidents caused by humans. That frightening reality makes road safety an urgent development priority for us, especially as we work to recover from the coronavirus disease pandemic and take into consideration the need to accelerate the implementation of the Global Plan in order to cut the death and injury rate in half by 2030. In their awareness of the importance of road safety and the role of safe roads in achieving sustainable development, the Algerian authorities have therefore taken measures to tackle the issue, adopting a holistic approach that involves the efforts of all stakeholders in enabling Algeria to contribute to achieving the goal in the Global Plan. In that regard, I would like to take this opportunity to present to the Assembly some of the elements that underpin the Algerian approach. The first is strengthening the efforts of our institutions. In 2019 we modernized the institutions responsible for road safety, establishing an advisory council supervised by the Prime Minister for the various sectors involved in enhancing road protection and safety that is tasked with defining our national strategy and policy on road safety and prevention, as well as coordinating all the relevant actors. In the same year we also set up a national road-safety commission, supervised by the Minister of Interior, which is responsible for the practical implementation of national policy on road safety and prevention. Secondly, we have taken a comprehensive approach. In 2019 we adopted a national cross-sectoral strategy based on the Global Plan. It is built around the five pillars of road safety, which are strengthening the legal framework, improving public transport, ensuring road and vehicle safety, enhancing communication and awareness-raising and improving medical care for the injured. Thirdly, we have included road safety in the school curriculum as we acknowledge the importance of making younger generations aware of road safety and the importance of respecting traffic laws. To that end, in collaboration with the relevant sectors and civil-society organizations, the Algerian Government is issuing an executive decree on road education that we intend to include in our curricula. Fourthly, we are improving understanding about road safety, making continued efforts to raise awareness among our citizens about the importance of reducing the numbers of road accidents, since our deterrent strategies are limited. To that end, we are taking every possible opportunity to collaborate with all stakeholders, especially civil-society organizations, in order to highlight the important role of the traffic environment in society and the need for strict compliance with traffic laws so as to reduce the number of traffic accidents. Fifthly and lastly, we are improving our traffic infrastructure by expanding and modernizing our road networks and by developing public transport, especially our rail network, streetcars and subways, throughout the country. The Government is working to ensure funding for those projects from the regular budget. Road safety is vital and affects the ability of all countries, but especially developing countries, to achieve the aims of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We must use all available resources to ensure the success of the Global Plan and avoid past failures when it comes to target 3.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals. No one should be left behind.

At the outset, my country’s delegation would like to convey its appreciation for the President’s leadership in preparing for and convening this timely meeting. Iraq acknowledges that roads are one of the most important pillars of infrastructure supporting the process of comprehensive development. Strengthening road safety and sustainable transport ensures the resilience and efficiency of economic and commercial activities, including in meeting the needs and enabling the movements of citizens while ensuring the functioning of global supply chains, including for medical supplies, as well as facilitating travel for a sustainable, resilient and inclusive recovery from the coronavirus disease pandemic. Iraq values the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 as a potentially excellent source for providing national plans with options and strategies for reducing road-traffic deaths by at least 50 per cent by 2030. In our view, achieving that target requires robust partnerships locally, through the private sector, and internationally, through the United Nations development system, for sharing best practices and effective implementation mechanisms, including the provision of long-term sustained financing and the relevant technical support, in order to promote the accelerated achievement of all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to road safety. Implementing paragraph 13 of the political declaration adopted today (resolution 76/294) will therefore be a significant factor in achieving the 50 per cent reduction target by 2030. In conclusion, Iraq looks forward to the convening of the next high-level meeting on improving global road safety in 2026 in New York, as provided for in paragraph 18 of the political declaration, in order to conduct a comprehensive midterm review of its implementation and identify gaps and solutions in our efforts to accelerate progress towards the achievement of the road-safety-related SDG by 2030.

At the outset, I would like to thank the President for convening this important high-level meeting on road safety, which is an excellent occasion for addressing specific recommendations for steps to be taken with regard to targets 3.6 and 11.2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, and an opportunity to evaluate the progress made in implementing resolution 74/299, on improving global road safety. Slovakia is one of nine major public donors to the United Nations Road Safety Fund, which we consider key to saving lives, especially in low- and middle-income countries. I am pleased to affirm our unwavering support to the Fund, which provides expertise on improving national road-safety systems, helps prevent deaths and injuries and contributes to socioeconomic development. On behalf of Slovakia, I would like to commend the declaration of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, aimed at reducing deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents by 50 per cent. Millions of lives are lost, and millions of families suffer every year, because of traffic accidents. It is time to act. To achieve that aim, we need to mobilize political support and financing. It is our belief that today’s event is a great opportunity to provide the right impetus for action. Speed limits, new technologies, legal frameworks and public campaigns are among the measures with the potential to prevent deaths and serious injuries, especially for pedestrians and all other vulnerable road users, including children, the elderly and persons with disabilities. On a national level, road-safety policy in Slovakia is governed by our national strategy for road safety for the period from 2021 to 2030. It aims to cut deaths and injuries by half by 2030, with a view to achieving zero deaths and injuries by 2050. Governments should spare no effort in cooperating with actors such as the World Bank’s Global Road Safety Facility, United Nations regional commissions, the World Health Organization and the United Nations development system to respond adequately to the global road-safety crisis through funding, capacity-building, communications, technical assistance and advocacy. I would also like to stress the importance of the Geneva-based Inland Transport Committee Working Party on Road Traffic Safety, the Convention on Road Signs and Signals, the United Nations Road Safety Collaboration and the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety. Creating a safer road environment for all is possible, and it is achievable in this decade. Predictable long-term investment, the improvement of transport infrastructure and consistent advocacy are key, and I can assure the Assembly of Slovakia’s full support in that endeavour.

I would like to start by thanking the President for organizing this high-level meeting on road safety. According to the World Health Organization, more than 50 million people have died on the world’s roads since the invention of the automobile. That is more than the number of deaths in the First World War or in some of our worst epidemics. More than 90 per cent of road deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, despite the fact that they account for only 48 per cent of the world’s registered vehicles. It is estimated that by 2030, road-traffic crashes will cause 2.4 million deaths per year, making them the fifth leading cause of death worldwide. It is therefore urgent to act at the global level to achieve a drastic reduction in road deaths. This is what lends meaning and importance to today’s meeting, which should serve as a platform for exchanging experiences and best practices with a view to achieving the objectives of the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, based on the Stockholm Declaration. Senegal is committed to taking vigorous action to eradicate unsafe roads, whose social, economic and ecological costs damage the development of developing countries. With an annual average in the past three years of more than 4,000 traffic accidents, including 745 deaths in 2019, or nearly two deaths per day, road accidents represent a real scourge for my country. Rapid urbanization, increasing motorization and a youthful population suggest that the problem will get worse, and mainly among the most vulnerable road users. To reverse that trend, Senegal has intensified its efforts in the area of road safety, within the framework of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021- 2030 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, channelled through our transport modernization programme, which is a major component of our Emerging Senegal plan. That is why President Macky Sall decided to declare 2020 as Road Safety Year in Senegal and intensify reforms and new structural projects, with a view to reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries due to road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030. In accordance with the recommendations of the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, Senegal has therefore adopted a group of strong measures, including the introduction of new, cutting-edge modes of public transport that include regional express trains and rapid transit buses and the establishment of a national road-safety agency, an autonomous coordination and management entity whose main task is to lead and ensure the consistent implementation of the national road-safety policy. In addition, we have amended our highway code to introduce major innovations reflecting new values — incentives for vehicles that run on non-polluting energy sources; greater criminal and civil accountability for drivers; points-based licences; tightened rules on driver training and more restrictive conditions for obtaining licences; a special status for professional drivers and compulsory driving school training for obtaining licences. Furthermore, aware of the importance of protecting vulnerable people such as children and ensuring information literacy, Senegal will take vigorous measures to disseminate road-safety education from kindergarten to secondary school, thereby providing training to 100,000 children. We will also strengthen the governance of road-accident data through a regional meeting on data co-organized with the WHO and Morocco and develop our post-accident emergency services. Road accidents are preventable. A number of countries, mainly developed nations, have succeeded in significantly reducing their numbers of road deaths in recent decades. I therefore appeal solemnly to all of them to commit to supporting the Global Road Safety Partnership, which provides valuable support to developing countries in strengthening their legislation, improving data collection and developing local and national road safety strategies and programmes.

Hundreds of thousands of people are killed on the world’s roads every year, with millions more facing severe injuries. Over the course of the past two decades, the number of road-accident fatalities in Iran has fallen by nearly 39 per cent. That was accomplished through planning and efforts in road-safety engineering, law enforcement, rescue and medical services, general and specific education, as well as the development of road infrastructure. In that context, we have taken significant steps during our first decade of action for national road safety. Those steps include, first, integrating traffic safety management under our national road-safety commission, together with improved efficiency achieved by expanding multisectoral cooperation within the commission; secondly, enhancing the commission’s capacity and role as the national lead agency for road safety and ratifying an agreement with the United Nations Road Safety Fund in that regard; thirdly, developing an action plan for road-safety enhancement in order to harmonize the various agencies’ plans of action; fourthly, establishing an accident data bank so that the relevant organizations can register and share information regarding all road accidents in an orderly and timely manner for further analysis and reporting purposes; fifthly, formulating a road-accident scene investigation instruction with the purpose of unifying investigation processes and standardizing reports; sixthly, taking preliminary steps to establish a national transportation safety board, with independent authority for professional in-depth investigations of all major transport accidents; and lastly, in cooperation with the World Health Organization, implementing a speed management project along three major routes in three provinces to manage the average speed of vehicles, which is a major exacerbating factor in the intensity of accidents and severity of injuries. The target of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, reducing road-traffic deaths and serious injuries by at least 50 per cent by 2030, cannot be met without comprehensive and sustainable financing, particularly for developing countries. Sustainable financing for road safety should cover all the key areas of road-safety management with a technical and functional approach. In that regard, unilateral coercive measures and illegal unilateral sanctions, as well as any politicization of this vital issue, can make it harder for us to reach the technical and professional goals we have defined in this area. Finally, developed countries are duty-bound to provide developing countries with vehicle manufacturing technologies, medical emergency and rescue capacities, as well as road engineering and safety management, in order to enable them to strengthen road safety and thereby save more lives.

At the outset, I would like to express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the President for his efforts to ensure that this high-level meeting is successful and that a consensus could be reached on the political declaration (resolution 76/294). Road accidents continue to be a leading cause of death, injury and disability all over the world. Such accidents also result in human tragedies and have far-reaching social and economic consequences, particularly for low- and middle-income countries. They also cause losses that can be as high as 5 per cent of gross domestic product, which hinders countries’ development. Tunisia attaches special importance to this issue and is working to limit its effects at every level. In the past five years we have achieved encouraging results, leading to a decline in numbers of accidents of 27 per cent and a drop in fatality rates of 25 per cent and injury rates of 33 per cent. Given the growing number of vehicles and expansion of urban centres, we will continue those efforts in the form of further investment in various public transport systems and alternatives to private transport. We are also working to set up rural and urban planning projects, along with programming and implementing many major schemes for maintaining and developing road networks. In addition, Tunisia will continue to work to achieve the road-safety Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and implement the recommendations under the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. Analyses by our national road-safety observatory have shown that the human element is responsible for a high percentage of avoidable accidents. In that regard, as part of our national strategy for preventing road accidents, we have developed a road monitoring system to encourage positive traffic behaviour. In that connection, we have been raising public awareness through educational institutions, the media and civil- society organizations. We have also set up continuous monitoring and control mechanisms on the roads to discourage dangerous driving, enforced the use of safety equipment, worked on road legislation and where necessary, updated our highway code of conduct for road users. Road safety continues to be a priority for us and one that is closely linked to development. Preventing road accidents requires ongoing, concerted, persistent effort in many vital areas of development, such as public transport, health, urbanization and urban planning. It is therefore impossible to address this issue independently of sustainable development efforts, and that requires planning, investment and international solidarity and cooperation in promoting capacity-building, supporting technology transfer and ensuring the exchange of best practices. That is why road safety should be included in initiatives and programmes that help to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. We therefore hope to see a greater role being played by the United Nations system, donor countries and international financial institutions in that regard, and that the General Assembly will remain seized of the issue.

We wish to thank the President for convening this important meeting, whose outcome should, among other things, help Member States to envision a holistic approach to road safety in order to continue improving the design of roads and vehicles and enhancing relevant laws and law enforcement and the provision of timely, life-saving emergency care for the injured. Fatalities from road accidents in South Africa have gone down by 10.8 per cent since 2017. Despite that, we are concerned about the fact that more than 12,000 lives were lost due to road crashes in 2021. That not only threatens our achievement of target 3.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals, but it cost our country more than $12 billion in 2021 alone, not to mention the tremendous social cost inflicted on the families, friends and loved ones of those who die from road accidents. Our Government responded to this issue by developing a national road-safety strategy for the period from 2016 to 2030, which shows our commitment to improving socioeconomic conditions and addressing the impact of road accidents in our country. The strategy covers the critical areas of road-user education and training, road-traffic rule enforcement, safe infrastructure, the use of modern technology and road-safety management. One of South Africa’s key interventions, in line with the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, has been lowering speed limits in urban areas, particularly around schools and residential areas. And in recognition of the fact that speed limits without enforcement will not yield the desired results, the Government has created a manual that also takes a more pragmatic approach to setting speed limits on rural roads and that will form part South Africa’s series of manuals on road traffic signs. The impact of global warming on road infrastructure is well documented and understood, and the issue of reducing vehicular emissions continues to receive attention in South Africa. A levy on motor- vehicle carbon-dioxide emissions was introduced in 2010 to mitigate the harm that motor vehicles do to the environment, with the aim of influencing the composition of South Africa’s vehicle fleet so that it ultimately becomes more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. In conclusion, we recognize that we need to customize our commitment to and adoption of well- known road safety practices if we are to attain the desired results, meaning at the very least halving the number of fatalities and serious injuries by 2030.

At the outset, I would like to thank the President and his team for driving the negotiations leading to the political declaration of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety (resolution 76/294) adopted today (see A/76/PV.90). Uganda welcomes the holding of this important meeting, while recognizing that road safety remains an urgent development priority, as it poses additional challenges to public health and social equity. In 2012, the General Assembly declared the first Decade of Action for Road Safety. Many countries have still not achieved reductions in road fatalities at the level initially envisioned, and Uganda, along with a majority of low- and middle-income countries, is among the worst affected in this area. As the new Decade of Action progresses, we hope to learn from our past failures to meet targets 3.6 and 11.2 under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In that regard, it is important to renew our commitments and share the progress that has been made to secure results by implementing the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, with the target of reducing road traffic deaths and injuries by 50 per cent. The Government of Uganda has made some progress in addressing gaps in the improvement of national road safety through its successive national development plans, in line with the Decade of Action for Road Safety, Uganda’s Vision 2040 and other national and international commitments. The following milestones are of note. First, pedestrian road-traffic injuries have been reduced overall through interventions such as building sidewalks and overpasses and improving police enforcement and road-safety campaigns and programmes. Secondly, we improved emergency care in health facilities across Uganda following a World Health Organization pilot intervention programme that halved the number of hospital deaths from national road-traffic injuries. Thirdly, Parliament launched a road-safety legislative action plan in May 2018. Fourthly, in December 2021 the Cabinet approved the Ministry of Works and Transport’s new national transport and logistics policy, which augmented our existing non-motorized transport policy, national road- safety policy and our 1998 traffic and road-safety act. Lastly, a national road-safety action plan is currently in its final planning stages. Despite that progress, however, Uganda continues to register high rates of road and traffic accidents. Between 2020 and 2021, the number of reported road accidents increased by 42 per cent nationally, and the number of crash deaths grew by 14 per cent. Furthermore, today road-traffic injuries are the tenth leading cause of death and disability in Uganda, with a majority of road crashes in the country due to reckless driving. With most of the crashes occurring in the capital, the Kampala City Council Authority has launched a road-safety strategy for the period from 2021 to 2030 aimed at strengthening road-safety- related policies. Its goals include improving the city’s road-safety performance, road infrastructure, crash and injury data management, and the sensitization and prioritization of the city’s post-crash response. All of those actions are being supported by civil society as well as private-sector participation. In that regard, closer cooperation and collaboration at the municipal, national and international levels remain crucial if we are to realize the targets set out in the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The political declaration we adopted today will go a long way to ensuring that we, the Member States, remain on track to meet the targets that we have set for improving global road safety. In conclusion, Uganda calls for global solidarity aimed at enhancing financial resources in order to strengthen road-safety systems and increase investment in integrated transport infrastructure development, with a view to improving global road safety and spurring economic growth in the country and the region.

At the outset, the delegation of the Syrian Arab Republic would like to express its thanks to the President for convening this high-level meeting on improving global road safety. We also thank all who contributed to the negotiations on the political declaration (resolution 76/294), in particular the delegations of the Russian Federation and Côte d’Ivoire, as facilitators, the Office of the President of the General Assembly and the office of the World Health Organization in New York, all of which helped to draft the declaration. The Syrian Arab Republic stresses the importance of achieving the road-safety-related objectives in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The declarations adopted at previous ministerial meetings in Moscow, Brasilia and Stockholm all strongly emphasized the linkages between road safety and other development issues. My delegation participated in the negotiations on the political declaration that was adopted this morning, as we have in past years, in order to promote the implementation of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030 and to achieve target 3.6 of the Sustainable Development Goals, that is, a reduction in the numbers of deaths and injuries caused by road accidents by at least 50 per cent during this decade. My country’s delegation joined the consensus on the political declaration, given its importance both regionally and nationally. However, we had hoped that it would take into account the concerns of my delegation and many Member States about the need to put an end to unilateral coercive measures, which have negative effects in every area, and particularly on the ability of the developing countries targeted by such measures to rehabilitate their road-safety-related infrastructure. Syria’s geographic position, at a crossroads of international routes linking the European continent with the Arab region, is an important one, and yet the terrorist war that has been waged on my country for more than 10 years has had a serious impact on infrastructure and service facilities, including international road networks. Terrorist organizations and secessionist militias still control parts of major international roadways. That makes the challenges we face in maintaining road safety even more difficult, and means that the Syrian State needs support for its efforts to reclaim and rehabilitate those roads and put them back into service. To that end, we demand a stop to the unilateral coercive measures imposed on the Syrian people and to the politicization of development work, which violates the right to development, as this is also a threat to road safety. My country strongly supports all efforts aimed at ensuring road safety all over the world. We have acceded to various United Nations agreements on road transport and road signs. We stress the importance of encouraging investment in road safety and in preventive programmes and projects aimed at reducing injuries and deaths due to road accidents, all of which would have a positive effect on public health and the economy. In conclusion, the Syrian Arab Republic stresses the need to implement the projects managed by the United Nations Road Safety Fund in partnership with public institutions in Member States, finance safety improvements on roads and meet capacity-building and technical support needs. In that context, my country looks forward to receiving support from international donors through the provision of modern technology, as well as mechanisms and equipment that promote road safety. That requires first and foremost genuine political will on the part of donors regarding the provision of aid to Syria, so that we can meet our international commitments on road safety and ensure the success of our Government’s plans with a view to improving on the rates achieved so far.

The Philippines reaffirms its commitment to the political declaration of the high-level meeting on improving global road safety (resolution 76/294) and the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. The new paradigm in the movement of people and goods must follow a simple principle  — those who have fewer wheels must have more of the road. To that end, the transport system of the Philippines will favour non-motorized locomotion and collective transportation systems. It is our goal to create a universal transportation ecosystem that caters to the needs and safety of all road users, especially people with limited mobility, children and other vulnerable groups. The Philippines has been advancing that objective through its road-safety action plan for the period from 2017 to 2022, a comprehensive and inclusive policy based on a vision of zero road- traffic deaths with an interim target of reducing the death rate on the roads by at least 20 per cent by 2022. The plan focuses on strategies under the traditional five pillars  — road-safety management, safer roads and mobility, safer vehicles, safe road users, and post- crash response  — and includes concrete programmes on issues such as the modernization of private utility vehicles, motor-vehicle inspections and the reactivation of our Committee on the Harmonization of Vehicle Standards and Regulations. The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic underscored the need to invest in multi-modal transport systems, as the restrictions that had to be imposed to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 have driven a shift to active modes of transport. Accordingly, we need to make non-motorized transport safer, especially on major thoroughfares where the infrastructure gives priority to motor vehicles. Our national transport policy gives priority to active transportation in its overall framework by developing facilities that can enable the efficient and safe utilization of non-motorized transport. The Government of the Philippines has established a total of 563 kilometres of bike lanes all over the country and continues to monitor their physical condition to ensure that they are well maintained. The Government also aims to enhance pedestrian mobility, access and safety around key rail stations by building five-kilometre elevated walkways to and from stations. Finally, the Philippines calls for harmonizing the definition and collection of road data so that we can better understand policies that help reduce road-related fatalities and improve our knowledge-sharing and exchange of best practices on road safety. Our national transport policy has designated the Department of Transportation as the repository of the transport database, which will contribute to more efficient transport data collection and management and therefore the effective formulation of policies on minimizing road-related accidents and fatalities.

The United States wishes to express its gratitude to all participants who worked tirelessly to conclude the political declaration (resolution 76/294), including the Office of the President of the General Assembly, whose stewardship was critical in helping us reach consensus. The United States is pleased to join other countries in drawing attention to road safety worldwide and supporting the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. We congratulate the Assembly for identifying this global challenge as a vital element of sustainable development. We must acknowledge the difficult circumstances we currently face, as these meetings come at a time when one of our Member States is being attacked by another and its road and transport infrastructure tragically destroyed. We call on Russia to cease its unjustified and brutal war and withdraw from Ukraine immediately. Global road safety remains a pressing public health challenge. Worldwide, approximately 1.35 million people are killed in road traffic crashes, and millions more are injured every year. Like many countries, the United States has faced increasing fatalities on our roads in recent times. President Biden has identified the need to improve infrastructure as a major priority. Last fall, the Administration passed a bipartisan infrastructure bill. Road safety and climate are important elements of that law. In January, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg launched the Unites States Department of Transportation National Roadway Safety Strategy, a comprehensive “safe system” approach to dramatically slash injuries and deaths on our roadways, weaving together complementary layers of protection. Internationally, the United States participates actively in the United Nations World Forum for the Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations and the Global Forum for Road Traffic Safety and in the International Transportation Forum. We support the World Road Association in its efforts to share data, research, policies, science-based regulations and other expertise. We continue to assist in building global capacity to conduct critical surveillance, analyse road-traffic data, evaluate and integrate road-traffic-injury surveillance systems and use data to drive decision-making and disseminate findings and best practices globally. Just this week, Secretary Buttigieg launched Momentum, an initiative that gives our international partners access to a growing set of resources and technical assistance. Road safety is an important focus of this initiative. The United States Government is also proud of recent international collaborative work to improve road safety, bringing together the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and other partners. Some of this collaboration focuses on pedestrian- vehicle traffic safety in and around school zones. We have also collaborated on a hospital-based road-traffic- injury surveillance system. With respect to the political declaration before us (resolution 76/294), we reiterate our concerns about references to legal instruments, agreements and regulations. Many of the referenced cases were undertaken pursuant to a regional United Nations sub-organization to which only a smaller number of Member States are contracting parties. Such references convey the wrong impression that there are specific, United Nations-approved types of standards and regulations. The United States maintains that national Governments are best positioned to decide road-safety standards and regulations. In closing, road safety is one of the most fundamental considerations of sustainable development. Making the roads safe for all users, by means that include the growth of alternative modes of transport, must remain central to all our work.

My delegation is grateful for the organization of this high-level meeting, which guides the actions, measures and commitments that countries must implement in order to make progress on addressing road-safety challenges. Globally, road-traffic crashes cause nearly 1.3 million preventable deaths and an estimated 50 million injuries each year, making them the leading cause of death for children and young people worldwide, as the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General reminded us (see A/76/ PV.90). In Latin America, traffic fatalities are the second leading cause of death, with pedestrians, cyclists and motorcyclists being the primary victims. This underscores the need to prioritize road safety, particularly in the health agenda concerning adolescents and vulnerable people. Ecuador has addressed the issue of road safety in a comprehensive manner. The Manual on Urban Road Safety seeks to enhance the implementation of the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, as the United Nations membership was called on to do. My country is making the necessary efforts to reduce deaths and injuries from road accidents and, likewise, is working to facilitate access to safe, affordable, accessible and sustainable transportation systems. In this way, Ecuador is contributing to the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals 3 and 11. Similarly, we have made progress on establishing lead road-safety agencies and implementing road- safety programmes. I wish to highlight that in order to meet the challenge of reducing deaths and injuries caused by traffic accidents by at least 50 per cent by 2030, Ecuador designed the formulation of the national strategy for safe mobility and the national policy on sustainable urban mobility. We are also renewing the national road-safety-awareness campaign called “It’s up to you what kind of wheels you want to steer in your life”. Thanks to inter-institutional and intersectoral efforts, actions have been taken to reduce traffic accidents and achieve sustainable mobility, but greater international and regional cooperation is needed. We support United Nations specialized agencies, including UN-Habitat, collaborating on global efforts for safe and sustainable mobility. International efforts in this area should promote the inclusion of a gender perspective in transport and road-safety planning. Lastly, Ecuador regrets that conflicts around the world are causing the road-safety situation to deteriorate. Accordingly, we also urge the cessation of hostilities, including the use of explosives and the bombing of critical civilian transportation infrastructure.

On behalf of the Republic of Korea, I welcome this high-level meeting on global road safety and believe that it will serve as an important step towards achieving the target of reducing road-traffic deaths and serious injuries by at least 50 per cent by 2030. We join in welcoming the adoption of the concise and action-oriented political declaration (resolution 76/294) and express our sincere gratitude to the President of the General Assembly for his guiding leadership in realizing that achievement. In addition, we are delighted to see the broad participation of road-safety stakeholders, including non-governmental organizations and academia, based on the modalities resolution (resolution 75/308). We look forward to continuing to work with all of them. I would like to take this opportunity to introduce Korea’s policy on addressing road-safety challenges. Korea has reduced the number of traffic-accident fatalities by 32 per cent over the past five years and is undertaking cross-cutting efforts to reduce them to below 5 per 100,000 inhabitants. I will now share three focus areas. First, we prioritize traffic-safety systems for pedestrians, the elderly and other vulnerable groups, who account for many traffic-accident deaths. We have designated more pedestrian-friendly roads in residential areas and shopping malls by setting the speed limit to 20 km/h and imposing a duty to make a temporary stop at crosswalks. We have also designated additional silver zones, or special protection zones for the elderly, with strengthened safety facilities. Secondly, my Government is bolstering the safety measures for motorcycles and personal-mobility vehicles, such as electric scooters and Segways, which have a high fatality rate in accidents. For example, we introduced advanced equipment for recognizing motorcycle licence plates and made it mandatory to verify drivers licences and for personal-mobility vehicle users to wear safety helmets. Thirdly, Korea has heavily invested in smart road safety management, such as an intelligent- transportation system, which has been installed on 100 per cent of the country’s highways and 47 per cent of its national roads. As a result, we have been able to reduce the number of deaths by more than 30 per cent and greatly shorten the time needed to detect and respond to traffic accidents. We have also contributed to developing countries by helping them establish intelligent-transportation systems. Recently, we have expanded intelligent-transportation-system services through new technologies, such as artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things, and have also introduced a smart-crosswalk system that provides automatic safety information to drivers and pedestrians approaching a crosswalk. Reaffirming the need to further improve global road safety through multi-stakeholder cooperation, the Korean Government will spare no efforts to achieve the road-safety goals in line with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Greece aligns itself with the statement delivered by the representative of the European Union (EU) in its capacity as observer, and we wish to make the following remarks in our national capacity. Despite a sharp 54 per cent decline in deaths over the last decade, Greece still struggles with road safety. We therefore attach great importance to the issue and have made it a Government priority. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure has been developing a national strategic plan on road safety that is in line with the relevant European strategy as well as the Global Plan for the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030, which aspires to reducing by 50 per cent the number of deaths and injuries by 2030. Our goal through this national strategic plan is to apply a set of interventions and actions and drastically reduce the number of accidents, availing ourselves of new technologies and helpful tools. A national fund and road-safety observatory are envisaged to finance actions and monitor their effectiveness. This ambitious plan adopts the Safe System approach for this decade, which includes actions for safer infrastructure, safer vehicles and safer use of the road network by all road users. Greece also participates in the EU Road Safety Exchange project aimed at closing the road-safety gap among EU member States by supporting member States with high potential to improve their road safety. Greece is also contributing to the European Baseline project on the collection of key performance indicators related to road safety. Additionally, new provisions in the Road Traffic Code cover the proper use of micro-mobility vehicles called personal light electric vehicles. A new framework is being drafted to apply harsh penalties for Traffic Code violations designed specially to protect vulnerable road users, such as cyclists, and to enhance the safety of alternative modes of transport. We are convinced that the implementation of the aforementioned major initiatives will make a significant contribution to the implementation of the European target of a 50 per cent reduction in deaths and serious injuries from road accidents by 2030. However, a holistic approach requires individuals to act responsibly. It is our civic duty to be responsible on the road. Our driving education must be updated, our sense of responsibility enhanced. It is widely accepted that we cannot achieve sustainable development without limiting all the negative effects of vehicular traffic. Accordingly, a political commitment needs to be made to support a series of initiatives allowing for the provision of financing to countries with smaller financial capacities.

We sincerely thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this extremely important meeting. Road accidents are believed to cause immeasurable suffering, grief and economic hardship for the families of victims. This traumatic issue also diverts precious resources from other pressing health and development challenges. Therefore, we fully support the decision to proclaim 2021-2030 as the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety and its target to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by at least 50 per cent. In this regard, we wish to highlight the following points. First, the United Nations legal instruments on road safety provide the foundation for countries to build domestic legal frameworks and regulations. However, as most of the instruments were developed decades ago, they should be strengthened and consolidated at the global, regional and national levels to address ongoing and emerging challenges. Secondly, since 90 per cent of road accidents occur in low- and middle-income countries, further investment should be made in traffic infrastructure and capabilities to ensure global road safety in these parts of the world. In this regard, we see that various current transportation-connectivity initiatives, such as the Master Connectivity Plan for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and the Global Development Initiative, can contribute to this process. Thirdly, we should develop a culture of safety through education and awareness-raising activities on complying with traffic regulations, using seatbelts, wearing helmets and refraining from driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs. Last but not least, the application and deployment of existing and innovative technologies to improve accessibility and all other aspects of road safety are very important. Accordingly, developed countries and international financial institutions have key roles to play in transferring technology, sharing experiences and best practices and providing financial support to developing countries for the implementation of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. For our part, Viet Nam has adopted a national road safety strategy for the period 2021-2030, looking ahead towards 2045. The strategy aims to reduce the number of deaths and injuries from road accidents by 5 to 10 per cent each year and to develop safe, modern and environment-friendly transport infrastructure, modes of transportation and a culture of safe transportation among our citizens. In these efforts, Viet Nam stands ready to strengthen cooperation with international partners to contribute to the global target of the Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. On this occasion, we wish to express our appreciation to the World Health Organization, UNICEF and other partners for their support in raising awareness of and promoting actions to address major road-safety risk factors in my country.

I thank the President of the General Assembly for convening this high-level meeting on global road safety. Road safety is a concern for all of us. The evidence is too great for us not to pay careful attention to the needless tragedy of road accidents. In Indonesia alone, the number of accidents reached more than 116,000 in 2019, resulting in approximately $17.6 million in material losses and over 25,000 deaths, which is greater than the number of deaths caused by HIV, malnutrition and malaria combined. However, there are pragmatic and concrete actions we can take to help prevent these tragedies. In this context, allow me to share some points. First, ensuring synergies among stakeholders can improve road safety. One of the key enablers of road safety is the private sector, whose role is taken into account in Indonesia’s policies, as reflected in the presidential regulation on road safety 2013 and the recent presidential regulation on the national universal plan for road safety 2022. These regulations and policies have led to better collaboration among the key players, resulting in a higher standard of eco-safety within an affordable price range, greater investment and financing in road-safety management as well as the construction of safer roads. My second point relates to the development of a culture of road safety. Education and awareness-raising are key to this, and it is important for governments to work with civil society and educational institutions. Since 2010, road-safety awareness has been integrated into Indonesia’s national education system at all levels. As part of the national universal plan, the Government is developing a specific curriculum in the national education system on the topic of road safety. My last point is the need to involve youth, as they are the main users of roads. Thanks to the Internet and social media, youth today are a hyperconnected generation. The Indonesia Youth Safety Warriors, launched by the Ministry of Transportation, is a youth- led platform. They are working with universities, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to involve more youth. Indonesia strongly supports the work and international cooperation undertaken to better enhance road safety. We therefore look forward to the convening of the follow-up meeting on road safety in 2026 provided for in the political declaration (resolution 76/294).

Poland aligns itself with the statements delivered by the representatives of the European Union and of Lithuania. I would also like to share a few remarks in my national capacity. Today’s meeting is a crucial opportunity to renew political momentum to deliver on the objectives set out in the Global Decade of Action for Road Safety and review the progress made so far. The debate today, like many discussions in recent months, is marred by the Russian aggression against Ukraine. This unprovoked war is ruining civilian infrastructure in our neighbouring country and damaging roads, bridges, railway stations, airports and shopping centres. It is also causing civilian casualties and wreaking havoc on Ukrainian roads as many people are forced to leave their homes in distress. It is taking a heavy toll on the safety of Ukrainians and knocking us all off the path towards achieving sustainable development. Ensuring the safety of people and transport systems is crucial for every country. In the light of that, road- traffic injuries and deaths are, unfortunately, a dire reality globally. We welcome the enhanced commitments made by many of the countries speaking today. Achieving improved road safety is also a priority for Poland. Targets adopted in our national road safety programme 2021-2030 aim at reducing by half the number of road fatalities and serious injuries by 2030. Owing to the modernization of road infrastructure and recently introduced regulatory changes in Poland, the number of road fatalities in 2021, compared to 2018, decreased by over 20 per cent, the number of severely injured by almost 30 per cent and the overall number of road accidents by 28 per cent. Legislative changes in Poland include increasing pedestrian protection. The improvement in this area is noticeable, as the number of incidents involving pedestrians and cyclists has already decreased. Other regulatory changes introduced a prohibition of the use of mobile devices while crossing the road, an obligation to keep a minimum distance between vehicles on highways and expressways, a unified speed limit in built-up areas and increased fines for traffic violations. We also promote road safety through a wide range of educational and information campaigns. My final point is on modern transport technologies, which have the potential to significantly improve the efficiency of transport systems and enhance road safety and overall travel comfort. Their application can also contribute to reducing the negative impact of the transport sector on the natural environment. Poland is currently developing intelligent-transport systems by introducing so-called national access points. Their implementation by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways — the entity managing national roads and motorways in Poland  — allows for the collection and analysis of data on parking services, road safety and traffic information in real time. The network covered by the system will be gradually expanded. To conclude, we stand ready to share our national experiences in improving road safety and contribute to international efforts in that regard.

We would like to thank the President of the General Assembly and his Office for their efforts in preparing this high-level meeting and the political declaration (resolution 76/294) adopted today (see A/76/PV.90), which is highly relevant in the light of the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030. We would also like to thank the Permanent Representatives of Côte d’Ivoire and the Russian Federation for facilitating the negotiations on the draft political declaration. The declaration is a road map to tackle fundamental road- safety challenges. However, its effective implementation will require the commitment and responsibility of our Governments. Road accidents today claim more lives than many diseases. To reduce their negative impact, it will also be essential to strengthen international cooperation. The recently launched Global Development Initiative, of which one focus area is cooperation on the development of transport infrastructure, could also be a vehicle for fulfilling the objectives of this high-level meeting. In Cuba, both the Government and local authorities have a clear will to work to improve road safety in the country. The Road Safety Act, the complementary provisions adopted by various ministries with influence over road-safety policy, as well as the national strategic plan for road safety 2030, which includes more than 250 actions in line with the Sustainable Development Goals and the Second Decade of Action for Road Safety, constitute the framework underpinning the Government’s efforts in this area at all levels. Additionally, to elevate road culture among the population and train road users to behave responsibly, priority was given to the development of a communication strategy that includes road education and driving schools to train new drivers and provide requalifying training to professional drivers. As stated in the political declaration we adopted, road safety is an urgent public health and development priority. Cognizant of this, we cannot fail to mention the limitations arising from the economic, trade and financial blockade imposed on Cuba by the United States, and which also affects road safety. Such aspects as the availability of funds to access international markets and acquire passive means of road-safety protection are risk factors that cause and create the conditions for traffic accidents. In conclusion, we reiterate our commitment to road safety and welcome the high-level meeting on this topic to be held in 2026, which will allow us to review progress in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals related to this issue.

As we have heard today, 1.35 million people die in traffic accidents every year, and more than 50 million are seriously injured. Most of these traffic accidents involve young people, and more than 90 per cent occur in developing countries. The United Nations Road Safety Fund (UNRSF) seeks, through the establishment of comprehensive national road safety programmes, to reduce mortality and serious injuries from road accidents by 50 per cent by 2030. This would be a huge humanitarian achievement with a very positive social and economic impact, and Croatia strongly supports it. Therefore, the Republic of Croatia will contribute €200,000 to the UNRSF in 2023. Contributing to UNRSF activities is an opportunity for us to demonstrate international solidarity, especially with developing countries. Croatia also directly benefits from the activities of the UNRSF, whose guidelines contained in the Global Framework Plan of Action for Road Safety are reflected in our national road-safety plan for the period 2021-2030, the strategic document for enhancing our road safety. Finally, we believe that this high-level meeting and the political declaration (resolution 76/294) will help to create positive momentum. We look forward to continuing excellent cooperation between the Ministry of the Interior of the Republic of Croatia and the UNRSF.

Before giving the floor to speakers in the exercise of right of reply, I remind members that statements in the exercise of the right of reply are limited to 10 minutes for the first intervention and to five minutes for the second and should be made by delegations from their seats. I now give the floor to the representative of the Russian Federation.

We are not surprised that some delegations have used this event, which has been convened for the unification of international efforts, as a stage to politicize everything and to be destructive. We will not be dragged into a discussion on the substance and reasons of the special military operation in Ukraine. It is not an item on the agenda today, and we have provided detailed explanations on this many times. Nevertheless, we believe it is important to express our categorical objection to the statement made by the representative of Lithuania on behalf of a group of countries, including Ukraine, the United States and Poland. We would like to point out that the destruction of civilian infrastructure can occur when it is intentionally used for military purposes. We also note that the Ukrainian military has often, for military purposes, blown up bridges and mined roads. Moreover, nothing was said about the artillery and mortar shelling or the use of multiple rocket launchers that has been directed at civilian infrastructure and the people in Donbas since 2014. Nor has anything been said about the damage to roads, personal and public vehicles and public-transport stops or about the human victims in Luhansk and Donetsk, not to mention the transport blockade imposed on Donbas by Kyiv for many years. But that is not what is surprising. What is surprising is that the countries that have subjected Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya  — and I could go on — to shelling and other aggressive military actions feel entitled to raise their voice in this Hall. They should first take a look at their own record. We believe that distracting the General Assembly from the unifying issue under discussion today by politicizing it is extremely unconstructive and we do not want to continue to take part in it.

We have heard the last speaker for this meeting. The Assembly will resume the plenary segment of the high-level meeting in this Hall tomorrow, 1 July 2022, at 4:30 p.m., to continue hearing statements.