INLAND TRANSPORT COMMITTEE
68th session, 7-9 February
2006
Opening Statement
by Mr. Marek Belka,
Executive Secretary
of the UNECE
Mr. Chairman, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am pleased to welcome you all to this
68 th session of the Inland Transport Committee.
I notice with satisfaction the large participation
from UNECE Governments, as well as from international
and non-governmental organizations.
As you may know, the UN Secretary-General
has decided to appoint me as the new Executive
Secretary of the UNECE.
This is for me both an honour and a challenge.
It is a great honour, because the UNECE is,
indeed, a prestigious international organization,
with a long history of efficient and useful
services to Member States. During the years
of the Cold War, the UNECE played a crucial
role as the meeting point between the East
and the West. More recently, it has guided
many Member States in their difficult process
of transition from planned to market economies.
All along its history, since its creation
in 1947, the UNECE has been for many European
countries like a lighthouse, which has shown
them the way forward.
However, being Executive Secretary of the
UNECE will be a difficult challenge. The
UNECE is placed in the middle of two major
political and economic processes: globalization
of economy and trade, on the one hand, and
increasing European integration around the
European Union, on the other. In addition,
a large number of Member States are still
confronted with political, social, economic
and environmental difficulties. In order
to adapt the UNECE to the new pan-European
institutional environment, Member States
have put in place a reform process. A Work
Plan on ECE Reform will be adopted in two
weeks time, at the forthcoming Annual Session
of the Commission. Implementing this Work
Plan and ultimately making the UNECE more
efficient and useful for its Member States
will certainly be a challenging task.
Today it is my second day in Office. However,
I did not want to miss this opportunity to
address the Inland Transport Committee, one
of the main pillars of the UNECE.
It is widely accepted that a well functioning
transport system is essential for growth
and competitiveness of economies. National
economies depend on transport more than ever
before, as they depend increasingly on international
trade.
Achieving efficient international transport
is not an easy task. It requires political
commitment, but also very precise technical
norms and regulations that ensure a high
level of efficiency, safety and environmental
protection and which are harmonized from
one country to another.
In this respect, the Inland Transport Committee
fulfils a real need that is not performed
by any other international organization.
Indeed, the Committee provides the framework
within which a large number of transport
norms and regulations are agreed internationally
with the participation of all its members.
Many of these norms and regulations have
been developed into Agreements and Conventions
that are legally binding for countries that
adhere to them, thus reflecting their importance.
No wonder that the UNECE Governments in the
framework of the reform have identified transport
as a top priority area.
I believe the Committee has every reason
to be proud of its results. To name just
a few, the AGR has given
Europe a coherent pan-European road network,
the “E” road
network. The Vienna Conventions and
European Agreements supplementing
them provide an international code of road
traffic rules, signs and signals, which has
reduced substantially the number of accidents
and victims on European roads. And the TIR
Convention has established a set
of simplified, efficient and secure border
crossing procedures, which have significantly
contributed to increasing the international
East-West transport of goods in Europe.
I fully support the work of the Committee
in keeping these legal instruments up to
date in order to take up the challenges that
transport is facing. In this respect, I welcome
the Round Table on Transport Security that
you have decided to hold on the occasion
of this session of the Committee.
Another reason for satisfaction is that
the number of States that become Parties
to the legal instruments developed by the
Committee is increasing steadily. I invite
all Member States that have not yet acceded
to these legal instruments to do so as soon
as possible and to implement them fully.
The Transport Division of the secretariat
supports efficiently your work in amending
the legal instruments on transport. In spite
of its limited resources, it promotes implementation
of the legal instruments and sub-regional
cooperation for the development of transport
infrastructures. The TEM and TER Projects
and the Euro-Asian transport links project
are good examples of that cooperation.
I am pleased to inform you that, as a result
of the reform, the Transport Division will
gain two posts, which will help you to achieve
your objectives. However, much remains to
be done and any additional support from your
side will be welcome.
I also wish to stress the importance of
cooperation with other international organizations.
I am aware that you have established a sound
division of labour with the ECMT in order
to avoid duplication of work. The OSCE has
recently shown willingness to cooperate with
us in strengthening the implementation of
transport Conventions. I know of existing
coop—eration with the other UN Regional Commissions
in promoting Euro-Asian transport links or
links with Africa across the Mediterranean.
We are cooperating with the WHO in dealing
with the environmental aspects of transport
and in addressing global road safety issues.
Last but not least, a large number of non-governmental
organizations, representing those who implement
your decisions on the ground, participate
in your work.
Mr. Chairman, Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,
I encourage you to strengthen your work
and redouble your efforts in order for the
Committee and the UNECE to become more relevant
and more useful for Member States. In this
endeavour, you can count on my full support.
I wish every success to this session and
thank you for your attention.
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