RCG Fourth Session (2018)
The Government of Bangladesh, represented by the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) and the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division (AFD), was the chair of the RCG in 2018 and hosted the RCG Fourth Session on 24-26 January 2019 in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The event was organised with the support of the RCG Secretariat, represented by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ROAP) and the United States Center for Excellence in Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance (CFE-DM).
The RCG Fourth Session was attended by Her Excellency Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. In her opening remarks, the Prime Minister reiterated Bangladesh’s commitments in advancing towards more efficient civil-military coordination and stressed that a unified coordination mechanism has been established in Bangladesh within the scope of the Disaster Management Act 2012.
Ms. Mia Seppo, UN Resident Coordinator in Bangladesh, stressed in her opening remarks that the objectives and activities of the RCG are critically important as they contribute to Bangladesh’s collective engagement to prepare for responding to emergencies and disasters. The RCG recognizes the unique capabilities of the military and facilitates the understanding of UN-CMCoord guidelines on how civilians and the military can cooperate in a predicable way during disaster preparedness and response.
In his opening remarks, Mr. Sebastian Rhodes-Stampa, Deputy Head of Office of OCHA ROAP, highlighted the progress achieved in the region to bring together humanitarian, civilian, and military actors to prepare for and respond to disasters in an organized, effective, and mutually supportive manner. Mr. Rhodes-Stampa stressed the role of regional and international actors who are called upon to augment national capacities in specialized areas.
The three-day session focused on (1) 2018 RCG work plans, (2) standardization of EMT and INSARAG, (3) earthquakes in an urban setting, (4) Global Consultative Group, (5) recommended practices for effective humanitarian civil-military coordination of foreign military assets (FMA), (6) ACMC publication review, and (7) RCG 2019 vision.
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