Regional Consultative Group on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination for Asia and the Pacific: Second Session 2016 Summary Report

Background

A multi-stakeholder Regional Consultative Group (RCG) on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination for Asia and the Pacific was formed in 2014 to act as a regional forum that brings together the humanitarian, civilian and military actors involved in disaster response preparedness planning and disaster response in the region. As outlined in the RCG Terms of Reference, the RCG was formed to: a) discuss response preparedness planning, with a focus on coordination of operational planning between civilian and military actors; b) facilitate exchange of information and innovative ideas to enable well-coordinated and needs-based effective disaster response to a broad range of humanitarian emergency operations; c) strengthen linkages with other relevant platforms with an emphasis on the relationship with Regional Organizations and the Global Consultative Group on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination.

The First Session of the Regional Consultative Group (RCG) on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination for Asia and the Pacific took place on 3-4 December 2015 at the United Nations Building, Bangkok, Thailand. The event resulted in a number of outcomes, including:

• Response preparedness planning: the key focus of the RCG First Session was for members to develop country level work plans aimed at enhancing the coordination of operational planning between civilian and military actors in priority countries (Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Myanmar and the Philippines);

• Predictability of civil-military coordination in response: RCG members defined approaches that can enhance the predictability of civil-military coordination mechanisms by examining lessons learned from recent responses and the extent these lessons were applied in subsequent operations;

• Use, allocation and tracking of foreign military assets (FMA): RCG members agreed on the need to develop predetermined agreements with specific government/militaries on FMA that can be immediately mobilized. They also explored what interoperable system could track the use and allocation of military assistance. Similarly, they agreed that exit strategies in the use of FMA need to be streamlined and communicated as soon as possible into the operation.

• UN-CMCoord Global Consultative Group: an important focus of the RCG First Session was placed on strengthening the link between the RCG and the UN-CMCoord Global Consultative Group, so as to allow information sharing and cross-fertilization between the two platforms.