UNECE, UNECA AND IARD COLLABORATION
This e-book is the outcome of a collaboration between the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe (UNECE), the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the International
Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP; now the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking, IARD).
UNECE is one of the five United Nations regional commissions administered by the Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC). The UNECE Transport Division facilitates the international movement
of persons and goods by inland transport modes. It aims to improve competitiveness, safety, energy
efficiency, and security in the transport sector. For more than six decades, the UNECE Inland Transport
Committee (ITC) has provided a platform for intergovernmental cooperation to facilitate and develop
international transport while improving its safety and environmental performance. ITC is the parent
body of the Working Party on Road Traffic Safety (WP.1) which is the only permanent body in the
United Nations system focussed on improving road safety. WP.1 has created a multilateral legal
framework, which includes the Conventions on Road Traffic, and Road Signs and Signals, both of which
were done in Vienna in 1968. Many countries across the world have become Contracting Parties
to these road safety instruments and benefit from their implementation. UNECE also provides technical
assistance and capacity building in road safety management. In this context, the UNECE staff travel
across the world to promote accession to, and the better implementation of, the above legal instruments.
UNECA is another United Nations Regional Commission. Its mandate is to promote the economic and
social development of its Member States, foster intra-regional integration, and promote international
cooperation for Africa’s development. UNECA plays a leading role in efforts to improve the safety
of Africa’s roads. In this context, it has organised several high-level road safety events on the continent,
bringing together different stakeholders to brainstorm about the continent’s road safety challenges and
opportunities. UNECA spearheaded the preparation of the African Road Safety Action Plan for the period
2011-2020, in the context of the United Nations Global Decade of Action for Road Safety (2011-2020).
It also has an important role in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the Action Plan.
Recently, UNECA worked closely with the African Union Commission to prepare the African Road Safety
Charter that was endorsed at the Third Ordinary Session of the Conference of African Ministers
of Transport, held in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, from 7-11 April 2014.
The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking (IARD) is a not-for-profit organisation supported
by major international producers of alcohol beverages with a mission to promote understanding
of the role of alcohol in society and to help reduce harmful drinking worldwide, including reducing drink
driving. Formerly the International Center for Alcohol Policies (ICAP), the organisation has been
recognised by the United Nations Economic and Social Council as a non-governmental organisation with
Special Consultative Status. In 2013, ICAP and UNECE jointly organised an international symposium
as part of Global Road Safety Week “Regional perspectives on preventing alcohol related road crashes
involving vulnerable road users” and launched an e-book with papers presented during the symposium.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
4
WELCOME
6
BACKGROUND
8
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
10
UNITED NATIONS ROAD SAFETY INSTRUMENTS
14
DELEGATE RECOMMENDATIONS: Regarding United Nations Road Safety Legal Instruments
16
STATUS OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AFRICAN ROAD SAFETY ACTION PLAN
18
THE IMPACT OF ALCOHOL ON ROAD CRASHES
20
RESULTS OF SURVEYS
24
ADDRESSING DRINK DRIVING – INTERNATIONAL GOOD PRACTICES
27
DISCUSSION GROUP HIGHLIGHTS FROM DRINK DRIVING WORKSHOP
30
CONCLUSION: CHALLENGES AHEAD AND ACTIONS AGREED
33
ANNEX 1: LIST OF PARTICIPANTS
36
ANNEX 2: PROGRAMME
3