FEVR PRESS RELEASE FOR WDOR2017

World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims

Sunday, 19th November 2017
This year again, millions of people killed on the world’s roads and many millions injured will be remembered on World Day – a Day now observed throughout the whole world.
Theme for WDR 2017: From Global Remembrance to Global Action across the Decade
2020 Target: reduce road fatalities AND serious injuries by 50%*
Let’s make 2011-2020 a Decade to remember!

*Sustainable Development Goal 3.6: Reduce fatalities & serious injuries by 50% by 2020

This theme is based on Pillar 1 of the Global Plan for the Decade of Action – Road Safety Management, which includes monitoring of targets. The 50% target for both deaths and serious injuries (Injuries had been mostly ignored until now!) was chosen because this target is part of the Sustainable Development Goal adopted by the UN General Assembly.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has a major role of monitoring the achievement of the targets through its global status reports.
WHO is collaborating with all other UN agencies and stakeholders to accelerate action in order to achieve the ambitious target.

FEVR has represented road traffic victims on the UNRSC, (UN Road Safety Collaboration) chaired by WHO Director Etienne Krug, from its inception in 2004 and it is through the support of Dr Krug and the UNRSC that our World Day received UN recognition in 2005 and has become the global Day it is today.

Jeannot Mersch, president of FEVR said: “Road victims throughout the world owe a debt of gratitude to Dr Krug for recognizing the importance to them of having their loss and suffering acknowledged and for being instrumental in promoting FEVR’s World Day to it becoming the UN’s World Day. Road victim and road safety NGOs are also grateful to Dr Krug for his annual World Day message.”

Brigitte Chaudhry, author of the WDR website, former FEVR president and initiator of the Brussels NGO declaration** who promoted also the World Day from its beginning, said:

“The fact that the Sustainable Development Goal includes the 50% target for reducing road deaths & injuries increases our hope it may be achieved. But we must remember that even this ambitious target means that thousands of deaths and injuries are actually accepted, even expected — something unthinkable for deaths and injuries from other causes! As road victim advocates we demand at least due provisions for those expected casualties.”

We also want to thank the FIA Foundation for their financial support, MAPFRE Fundacion for having produced this year’s video and all who share and help promote #WDoR2017.



Contact: president@fevr.org info@wdor.org (Kaja Kobal)

* UN General Assembly adopts a resolution on “Improving global road safety”The resolution…”calls for action to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries as a pressing development priority”. It also calls on Member States to “commemorate the annual World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims”. link

** NGOs advocating for road victims and safer roads have compiled a Declaration for the Decade of Action, comprising 33 recommendations to governments: Brussels NGO Declaration