FIA president Jean Todt and his partner, actor Michelle Yeoh, have both received the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the United Nations.
They were presented with the award by UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon for their work in helping to stabilise and reduce the road toll around the world and promoting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
“Jean Todt and Michelle Yeoh have mobilised sustained commitment toward road safety and development,” Ban Ki-moon said at the presentation in New York City.
“Road safety is not a privilege but a basic human right.”
Todt is the UN’s Special Envoy for Road Safety while Yeoh is a UN Goodwill Ambassador.
The former Ferrari F1 general manager, Todt, actively works to reduce road deaths and injuries worldwide within the FIA’s Action for Road Safety campaign.
“We cannot accept that every year 1.25 million people die on the road; 50 million people are injured,” Todt said at the award ceremony.
“I take this symbol, the Humanitarian of the Year Award, as more than an award for Michelle and myself but as the opportunity to highlight this carnage.”