Kevin Watkins (l) and Brice Lalonde (r) discuss road safety and Rio+20 with moderator Jo Confino of the Guardian
Road safety has been included in the draft Rio+20 ‘outcome document’ during negotiations at the UN in New York.
A proposal by the Russian Federation to include road safety ‘as an integral part of sustainable development’ in the paragraph on sustainable transportation was agreed by the US, European Union, G77 and China during negotiations on 2nd May. Although the amendment is not final, with the ‘zero draft’ of the communique still subject to many days of negotiation, the recognition of road safety in the context of sustainable development goals by such a large and influential group of countries is an unprecedented and significant breakthrough.
The move by member countries comes as a number of road safety organisations release a joint statement calling for road safety and sustainable transport to be part of the Rio+20 framework. The statement, endorsed by thirteen international road safety NGOs describes road traffic injuries as a preventable “human, economic and environmental disaster”. It is the latest stage in a campaign, led by the Make Roads Safe campaign, for ‘road safety at Rio+20’. This included a session on road safety and Rio+20 at the first Decade of Action Policy & Donor Forum, in New York on 2nd May, with participants including Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative at the UN, Dmitry Maksimychev; Rio+20 Executive Coordinator Brice Lalonde; and Kevin Watkins, a senior fellow at Brookings Institute, who issued a new report ‘Safe & Sustainable Roads – an agenda for Rio+20’ highlighting the impact of road traffic injuries on both fast developing nations and the world’s poor.
Click here to download the joint statement (27kb pdf) >
Click here for a copy of ‘Safe and Sustainable Roads – an agenda for Rio+20’ >