4 October 2023
Road traffic accidents are a leading cause of injury and death among United Nations Security Management System (UNSMS) personnel. Accidents involving UNSMS vehicles are also a cause of fatalities and injuries of local communities, further underscoring the need to bolster road safety among the UNSMS personnel. ?According to the Secretary General report on Safety and Security 2021, five UN personnel lost their lives because of road traffic accidents in the first half of 2021.
As part of the UNDSS strategy on driving safety in 2023, the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) security section initiated the road and driving safety campaign with a series of broadcasts, including safety awareness videos involving the head of mission and other senior leaders.
UNIFIL Head of Mission & Force Commander, Major General Aroldo Lázaro Sáenz, in a message promoting the road and driving safety campaign said: Please join me in being: ”Driving Safety Ambassadors: Drive safely, be safe, and be well.”
The campaign also included the implementation of driving safety enforcement checkpoints at UNIFIL headquarters and Green Hill compound in Naqoura. These random checkpoints had been established to ensure compliance with basic driving safety requirements and improve road safety on UNIFIL HQ roads.
The checkpoints are conducted and managed by UNIFIL Security and Military Police personnel. Civilian and military drivers may be stopped randomly or upon being observed violating basic driving safety requirements such as not wearing a seatbelt, using a cell phone while driving, or engaging in other unsafe actions.
UNIFIL is committed to ensuring the safety of all personnel and takes driving safety matters very seriously. As part of the campaign there had been an integrative approach involving all mission departments including UNIFIL Security, Public Information Office, Transport Section, Engineering, Legal Office and Military component.
UNIFIL Deputy Chief Security Officer commented, “The campaign aims at creating a road and driving safety culture rather than becoming a punitive and/or disciplinary initiative.” ?
Since the start of the campaign in 2023, there had been 20 joint checkpoints involving security and military components from which around 300 vehicles had been stopped/checked. Additionally, during the campaign several broadcasts, reminders on road and driving safety had been disseminated to UNIFIL personnel. ?The campaign also included the installation of well-marked speed bumps and road traffic signs within UNIFIL premises.