AUN was recently awarded special accreditation by the United Nations to participate in its high-level meeting on Road safety on June 30-July 01, 2022, at UN headquarters in New York. The newly formed organization, Advocacy Unified Network, has set out to tackle the immense challenges faced by road safety advocates and practitioners worldwide with innovative approaches that harness technology and other resources to improve road safety in developing countries.
AUN background
Advocacy Unified Network, a Global Public Policy Research and Advocacy organization headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands, was accredited by the United Nations to participate in the high-level road safety meeting. AUN works with partners worldwide to develop policy recommendations to improve road safety outcomes, among other public policy issues. The organization aims to bridge global development agencies and local actors by providing solutions that work within-country contexts while aligning with broader global policy goals. A central part of its mission is an emphasis on Integrated policy: finding intersections among different sectors or topics (such as health and transportation) and bringing together diverse voices. AUN has supported initiatives in more than eight countries and regions worldwide. The initiatives include strengthening civil society organizations to advance sustainable urban mobility, implementing advocacy campaigns for safer roads, supporting national transport ministry reform processes, and developing partnerships with private sector companies interested in reducing traffic fatalities.
This has been a defining moment for our organization. We are thrilled about this opportunity to be involved at such a critical juncture when decisions are being made about how UN and national funds will be used.
Partnerships with Multilateral and Bilateral Organizations
AUN is creating an international partnership of organizations and institutions to improve road safety in developing countries. To date, AUN has partnered with Asuntos Globales Panama and Jóvenes por la Seguridad vial Colombia, enabling it to participate as a formal NGO at high-level meetings on road safety convened by the Latin American countries. At these events, AUN will collaborate with leading development partners such as UNICEF and WHO, civil society organizations; academia; experts; and policymakers. This partnership represents a unique opportunity to advocate for a comprehensive approach that reduces crash incidence and risk. AUN will provide technical advice to partner organizations during high-level meetings that help inform global policy discussion on preventing crashes among vulnerable populations, primarily children and young adults—in Latin American countries. Through its partnership with Asuntos Globales Panama, AUN also provides technical assistance in various aspects of road safety, including research; lobbying to increase legislative capacity by best practices worldwide; data collection and analysis, public awareness campaigns, and advocacy for reforms. Other than the Latin American countries, AUN is also forming alliances in Africa and Asia. The partnership dialogue initiation with organizations like the Partnership for Change Initiative (PCI) in Tanzania, YOURS in Nigeria, and the Philippines Global Road Safety Partnership (GRSP) strengthens its ability to advocate for advocacy unified network’s integrated policy solutions for road safety in developing countries.
The 2030 Agenda, Sustainable Development Goals, and Road Safety
Setting Up Systems, Strengthening Partnerships, and Planning Collaborative Initiatives. The advocacy of AUN is to advance integrated policy solutions toward road safety through an individual membership organization, giving particular focus on urban road traffic challenges and road user behavior. We intend to reach 1% of households through our network by 2030 as general public education on all safety aspects (including tobacco use) with particular attention to road safety challenges facing rural communities today and in 2030. AUN will facilitate this through pieces of training and workshops on integrated policy development approaches within UN agencies such as UNHABITAT (Habitat III), WHO (Health Aspects of Transport), ILO, etc., all working within the framework of the 2030 Agenda. The recent high-level meeting of the United Nations on Road Safety provides a significant opportunity to align Member States’ commitments to reduce road deaths and injuries worldwide. The main message of the event was that we need to work together and act now if we are going to meet the ambition set out in the 2030 Agenda.
It was noted that there had been some progress but that it has not been sufficient or fast enough given how many people are dying every day from road crashes around the world, which amounts to an estimated 1.25 million people per year.
What Will be Added to the Global Road Safety Architecture
Advocacy Unified Network – AUN is an international network of government, industry, and civil society advocates. A new partnership between these partners enhances each other’s skills and abilities and creates a more robust platform to advance integrated policy solutions to road safety problems. One such group joining forces is Advocacy Unified Network (AUN), which helps its diverse member organizations across sectors advance integrated policy solutions to road safety problems around the world. Founded in the city of peace and justice, the Hague, AUN brings together a variety of partners to form an international advocacy coalition with which participants can better advance public policies aimed at improving road safety for everyone on every level. Now that AUN has been given special accreditation by the United Nations to participate in this month’s high-level meeting on Road safety at UN headquarters in New York.
We look forward to working with policymakers and key stakeholders worldwide who share our commitment to advancing integrated policy solutions for sustainable development.
Progress So Far
We are delighted to have received such accolades, reinforcing that AUN is a trusted global platform for road safety advocacy and capacity building. During our first year of operations, we have worked collaboratively with several partners, including non-governmental organizations such as Asuntos Globales Panama and Jóvenes por la Seguridad vial Colombia and many national government agencies (such as those from Panama, Peru, and Colombia). As you can see from above, we are indeed making progress on Latin America-wide road safety policy development at an unprecedented pace.
By providing us the special accreditation to participate in the high-level meeting on road safety at the UN headquarters in New York, the United Nations has endorsed AUN as a valuable partner in advancing integrated policy solutions for road safety in developing countries. We look forward to doing even more over the coming years.
