RCG Seventh Session (2021)
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect travel, the Regional Consultative Group seventh main session was held online for the second time as an abbreviated session on 1 December 2021 with two main objectives: (1) to update and share progress from member countries; and (2) to continue the annual thematic discussion relevant to civil-military coordination.
The session covered country updates (Nepal, Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore) and a panel discussion on localization and civil-military coordination - a selected theme from the RCG Mid-Term Consultation in July 2021.
The session was opened by Ms. Humkala Pandey, Joint Secretary (Disaster and Conflict Management Division), Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of Nepal, who highlighted challenges and opportunities witnessed during the past two years. Recognizing the needs of the people impacted by COVID-19 and affected by the occurrence of natural disasters and noting the tireless whole-of-government/whole-of-society efforts, she reaffirmed the need for civil-military dialogue and the importance of coordination platforms such as the RCG.
The Acting Executive Director of the Australian Civil-Military Centre (ACMC), Ms. Angela Fitzsimons, also provided opening remarks, thanked Nepal MOHA Chair for their leadership, reminding the participants of the importance of dialogue through the RCG and one of its key outputs - the publication “Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination in Emergencies: Towards a Predictable Model”.
Lastly, Mr. Markus Werne, Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, welcomed the participants, noting long and important journey of the RCG after the Asia-Pacific series of Conferences on Military Assistance to Disaster Relief Operations (APC-MADRO) was endorsed in 2010. Mr. Werne also highlighted the link between the RCG and global platforms such as the Consultative Group on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination and the Humanitarian Networks and Partnerships Week, which coincidentally will also feature localization as one of the main topics during its 2022 annual event in Geneva.
A full recording of the session is available online.
Document:
- RCG Seventh Session 2021 - Summary Report (Download)