GENEVA, FEBRUARY 23 – Transport leaders from around the world have called for urgent and concerted action to address systemic vulnerabilities exposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused widespread disruption to transport connectivity and supply chains. Gathering for the 83rd session of the UNECE Inland Transport Committee (ITC) – the United Nations’ only regulatory body specializing on road, rail, inland waterway and intermodal transport – transport ministers and leaders from Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Middle East endorsed a Ministerial Resolution on “Enhancing resilient inland transport connectivity in emergency situations: an urgent call for concerted action”.
Italy supported the resolution adopted to strengthen the connectivity of “resilient internal transport” in emergency situations and aimed at addressing the challenges emerging in the transport sector caused by the pandemic, the Permanent Mission in Geneva stated on Twitter.
The document calls for all signatories to take stock of the global emergency under way and commit to taking the actions necessary to reduce uncertainty and increase the predictability and efficient deployment of mutually accepted measures in emergency situations. Among key areas, it enshrines the international community’s decision to “capitalize on the strengths of the Committee, including its convening power and regulatory functions, and its role as the United Nations platform for inland transport to promote concerted national responses and develop urgently needed shared technical knowledge”. (@OnuItalia)
