The Ambassador of Morocco to the United Nations, Omar Hilale, has initiated a global campaign for road safety, titled “From New York to Marrakech.” This initiative serves as a precursor to the upcoming 4th World Conference on Road Safety, scheduled to take place in the vibrant city of Marrakech from February 18 to 20, 2025. Notably, this will be the first time that Africa will have the honor of hosting this prestigious event.
The campaign’s launch occurred during a distinguished event
hosted by the International Peace Institute (IPI) under the theme “A secure and
sustainable mobility journey in cities.” The event was graced by the presence
of notable figures, senior United Nations officials, ambassadors, and
UN-accredited media representatives.
During the event, Omar Hilale emphasized that Morocco, under
the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aims to establish the 4th
World Conference on Road Safety as a platform to amplify the voices of
developing nations disproportionately affected by traffic accidents, both in
terms of human life loss and socioeconomic consequences.
It Is important to note that Morocco, as the host nation, is
fully committed to collaborating with the international community to ensure a
robust and action-oriented Marrakech Declaration by the conference’s conclusion.
It was noted by the ambassador that particular focus will be
given to the African continent, a region experiencing persistent increases in
road fatality rates and rapid advancements in mobility and transportation
systems.
This significant Global Conference will convene leaders,
specialists, academics, private sector representatives, and NGOs to expedite
progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals’ objective of halving global
road fatalities by 2030. The conference will feature pre-events, a ministerial
roundtable, five plenary sessions, and 24 parallel sessions. Additionally,
there will be an innovation competition and a film festival centered on road
safety.
Omar Hilale emphasized that road safety financing will be a
top priority at the Marrakech Conference. He mentioned that Morocco will
collaborate with the UN Special Envoy for Road Safety to host the High-Level
Pledging Forum as a prelude to the conference.
The diplomat further Indicated that road safety has been a
top national priority in Morocco since February 18, 2005, when His Majesty King
Mohammed VI launched the first national road safety strategy.
This particular date marked a significant shift in the
institutional approach to road safety management, and substantial progress has
been achieved since then, he emphasized. He also mentioned that the Strategy
was put into effect from 2004 to 2013, with the primary goal of reversing the
increasing trend in the yearly count of fatalities and severe injuries, and to
sustainably and continuously decrease their occurrence.
The 2nd Road Safety Strategy, encompassing the 2017-2026
timeframe, prioritizes the substantial reduction of road accident fatalities by
50% within the target year of 2026, as emphasized by the ambassador. The
establishment of the National Road Safety Agency in 2018 further bolstered
these endeavors, serving as a dedicated entity for effective road safety
management and governance.
Additionally, Morocco has recently initiated the “Safe Moto”
Program, which aims to enhance road safety through awareness campaigns,
improved law enforcement, educational initiatives, and the advancement of
infrastructure quality and standards.
With reference to the Decade of Action for Road Safety
2021-2030, Hilale acknowledged the progress made, but emphasized the need for
accelerated action. He highlighted the adoption of a new resolution on “Improving
Global Road Safety” by consensus on 24 June 2024, with the support of 57 Member
States, which was tabled by the Kingdom of Morocco.
The resolution encouraged Member States and relevant
stakeholders to reinforce their collective commitment to expedite and amplify
endeavors to execute the Global Plan for the Decade of Action for road safety
and augment efforts to elevate road safety as a paramount political priority.
The event was honored by the attendance of several
distinguished individuals, including the Special Envoy of the UN
Secretary-General for Road Safety, Jean Todt; the CEO of JCDecaux North
America, Jean-Luc Decaux; the Deputy Head of the Delegation of the European
Union to the United Nations, Hedda Samson; the Ambassador Permanent
Representative of Poland to the UN, Krzysztof Szczerski; and the Commissioner
of the Department of Transportation of the City of New York, Ydanis Rodriguez.
Dani Simons, Vice-President at Alstom, the American actor
and road safety activist, Jean Reno, the co-founders of Street Art for Mankind,
Audry and Thibault Decker, the Japanese artist Dragon 76 and Esra Sergi
Bertani, of the United Nations Office for Partnership also participated in this
event.
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