Doha – The 4th Global Ministerial Conference on Road Traffic Safety ended on Thursday in Marrakech with the assumption of a comprehensive declaration to strengthen international engagement for safer roads.
The three -day event, which took place from February 18 to 20, brought together over 3,000 participants from more than 100 delegations, including 52 African countries.
The summit was organized by the government of Morocco and the World Health Organization with the topic of “commit to life”. The summit marked the position of Morocco as the first African and Arab country to organize this global assembly.
“This explanation is the fruit of a common effort that reflects the voices and contributions of everyone involved” said During the final meeting on Thursday. “It is not just a declaration of intent, but a call for action, a roadmap to make considerable progress in traffic safety worldwide.”
In the Marrakech Declaration, concrete measures to accelerate the implementation of the global plan for the decade of traffic safety 2021-2030 are determined.
“The declaration calls on the Member States and the relevant actors to accelerate and intensify the efforts to implement the global plan, to make traffic safety a political priority and to ensure its relevance as a catalyst for the development agenda,” said Kayouh.
“We have received carefully integrated feedback to ensure that all governments, cities, civil society, science, private sector and, above all, victims and their families, which remind us of the human costs behind every statistics, are really reminiscent of all the governments involved in traffic safety. Them for accounting. “
Jean Todt, the special representative of the UN Secretary General for Road Traffic Safety, pointed out the importance of individual responsibility. “Governments have a role to play, but individual responsibility is just as important,” he argued. “Daily measures make the difference in traffic safety, such as wearing helmets, using seat belts and avoiding drunken driving.”
Dahdah, director of the global road safety facility of the World Bank, claimed that “multilateral development banks can be increased to 10 billion US dollars to 10 billion US dollars over the next ten years”. He confirmed the willingness to expand the financing if the Member States consider this necessary.
Strengthening international cooperation
Omar Hilale, Morocco’s constant representative of the United Nations, said on Wednesday: “Morocco is the first African and Arab country to organize this important conclave and send a signal of support for Africa, especially since almost 25% of global accidents, said Morocco . On the continent. “
He added that the explanation is “not an end in itself, but a step towards greater international mobilization for traffic safety as one of the goals for sustainable development”.
The declaration encourages the Member States to establish interministerial coordination mechanisms between health, transport, educational, infrastructure, interior and environmental ministries in order to deal with the sectors on the effects of road security.
The conference introduced significant initiatives, including Mohammed VI International Road Safety Prize.
Dimitris Mandalozis, President of the International Road Federation, confirmed that “every measure that is aimed at the awareness of the importance of road traffic safety and reducing accidents can only move in the right direction”.
Minister Kayouh announced a new security measure: “Consciously the growing presence of two and three -wheel vehicles on Moroccan roads and I undertake to ensure high -quality helmets that adhere to the safety standards of the UN for all new buyers. Each purchase includes two certified helmets. “
A worldwide problem
The latest report by WHO reveals about statistics on the progress of the campaign. Only six countries have legal framework conditions that are fully align with the best practice for risk factors, while 140 countries have Laws Address at least one risk factor.
Ten countries reached the goals of the first decade by lowering the deaths by 50%, while 35 countries achieved a reduction of between 30% and 49% from 2010 to 2021. Morocco recorded a reduction of 13%during this period.
The explanation requires certain measures. “Financial actors such as banks, investors, insurance companies and examiners must expressly request that companies actively tackle road security in their value chains as a prerequisite for financial participation at reasonable financing rates,” the document says.
A meeting will be called on the horizon in 2026 to evaluate progress. “This follow-up will measure how far the international community has promoted when accepting the Marrakech declaration,” said Hilale.
For the historical context, this fourth edition follows previous conferences in Moscow (2009), Brasilia (2015) and Stockholm (2020). The WHO has reported a slight decline in the annual deaths of street accidents from 1.35 million to 1.2 million, which corresponds to a reduction in death by 5% and a reduction in deaths by 16% per 100,000 inhabitants between 2010 and 2021.
Read too: Morocco appears a new agreement to support Palestine in transport, logistics
