High Level Meeting of the UN General Assembly on Global Road Safety

Through the adoption of the 2020 UN General Assembly resolution A/RES/74/299 on “Improving Global Road Safety”, governments reaffirmed their commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, proclaimed the period 2021-2030 as the Decade of Action for Road Safety, and established a target to reduce by at least 50% the number of road traffic deaths and injuries by 2030. 

Member States also agreed to convene a High-level Meeting (HLM) of the UN General Assembly on Global Road Safety, under the overall theme “The 2030 horizon for road safety: securing a decade of action and delivery”. Following three previously held Ministerial Conferences on Road Safety (2020 Sweden, 2015 Brazil, 2010 Russian Federation), this HLM will be the most significant political gathering held on global road safety to date.

In accordance with the 2021 UN General Assembly scope and modalities resolution A/RES/75/308, the President of the UN General Assembly, as host of the HLM, will convene representatives of Member States ideally at the level of Heads of State and government; parliaments; city governments; relevant UN entities; civil society, non-governmental and youth-led organisations; academia; professional associations; and the private sector. 

The HLM will approve a concise and action-oriented political declaration agreed in advance by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations, to be submitted by the President of the General Assembly for adoption by the UN General Assembly.

Background to the 'Decade of Action for Road Safety 2021-2030'

Road traffic crashes claim nearly 1.3 million lives every year and are the leading cause of death among children and young adults. In addition to the human suffering caused by road traffic injuries, they also incur a heavy economic burden on victims and their families, both through treatment costs for the injured and through loss of productivity of those killed or disabled. More broadly, road traffic injuries have a serious impact on national economies, costing countries 3% of their annual gross domestic product. For this reason, SDG target 3.6 called for the halving of the number of road traffic deaths and serious injuries by 2020. Ensuring the safety of transport systems is also directly linked to SDG targets on sustainable cities and communities (SDG 11) and climate action (SDG 13).

A Global Plan for the Decade of Action 2021 – 2030 was developed by WHO and the UN Regional Commissions, in cooperation with the UN Road Safety Collaboration (UNRSC) to guide Member States in the implementation of key actions to improve the safety of roads to achieve the 2030 target.

For more information, please visit the official website.