The Regional Consultative Group (RCG) on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination for Asia and the Pacific was formed in 2014 to act as a multi-stakeholder, regional forum that brings together humanitarian, civilian and military actors involved in planning for and responding to disasters in the region. The RCG was formed to discuss response preparedness planning, with a focus on the coordination of operational planning between civilian and military actors in priority countries in the region–Bangladesh, Nepal, Indonesia, Myanmar and the Philippines. It also serves to facilitate the exchange of information and innovative ideas to enable well-coordinated and needs-based effective disaster responses, and 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.
One of the first recommendations that emerged from the RCG was to develop a common understanding and enhance the predictability of the civil-military coordination mechanisms, and their respective functions, during a response. Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination in Disaster Response: Towards a Predictable Model outlines key civil-military coordination mechanisms and how these are activated during disaster response in line with global and regional frameworks and guidance. With five different country-focused chapters for each of the priority countries, this publication will enhance knowledge and understanding of the unique context for humanitarian civil-military coordination in the Asia region, further strengthening linkages between global, regional and national guidance and structures for civil-military coordination in disaster response.
This publication has been produced in collaboration between the Humanitarian Advisory Group and other key civil-military players in the Asia-Pacific region, namely the Australian Civil-Military Centre (ACMC), and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP). The publication will be a work in progress, to be regularly updated to ensure that it continues to reflect the operational realities on the ground.
The RCG hopes that this publication will support future deployments of both military and humanitarian actors as we seek to respond to the growing number of disasters in our region.
