REPORT RCG Background The Asia-Pacific Conferences on Military Assistance to Disaster Relief Operations (APC-MADRO) were organised over a five-year period (2005-2010) with the aim of developing collaborative guidelines to assist the planning of foreign military assistance in support of disaster response operations in the Asia-Pacific region. At the end of this process, the Asia-Pacific Regional Guidelines for the Use of Foreign Military Assets in Natural Disaster Response Operations (APC-MADRO Guidelines) were finalized and endorsed in 2010. Building upon the outcomes of the Asia-Pacific Conferences and related guidelines, 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 to bring together the humanitarian actors, grass-root organizations, government officials, and military actors involved in disaster response and disaster response preparedness 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 chairmanship of the RCG rotates among Member States on an annual basis. The Third Session of the RCG took place on 5-6 December 2017 at the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) Changi Regional Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Coordination Centre (RHCC). The event was chaired by the Government of Singapore, represented by the Ministry of Defence (MINDEF) and the SAF. It continued to build on the outcomes of the RCG First Session (2015) and RCG Second Session (2016) and addressed key issues that are central to advancing the civil-military coordination agenda in Asia-Pacific. The Third Session was attended by more than 130 participants from 26 countries and 24 regional/international organisations, as well as from academia and the private sector. “The humanitarian system must ensure there is an established platform which fosters dialogue, interaction, information exchange, and joint planning at all levels. The RCG on Humanitarian Civil- Military Coordination provides the opportunity to advance multi-agency and multi-sector response planning.” Under Secretary Ricardo B. Jalad, Executive Director of the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC) and Administrator of the Office of Civil Defence (OCD), Government of the Philippines 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). Summary of the RCG Fourth Session Day 1-24 January 2019 Opening Ceremony, 24 January 2019 The RCG opening 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 Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination (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. “Over the last four years, the RCG has proven to be an invaluable opportunity to bring together civil and military actors to discuss issues of common concern, and to develop a common understanding of new developments that impact on the way in which response is conducted in this region, and beyond. Asia- Pacific has positioned itself at the forefront by being the only region that has formed a Consultative Group that focuses on Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination.” Mr. Sebastian Rhodes-Stampa, Deputy Head of Office of OCHA ROAP Other opening remarks were delivered by Joseph Martin, Director of CFE-DM and officials from the Bangladesh Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MoDMR) and the Bangladesh Armed Forces Division (AFD). Panel: 2018 RCG Work Plans The objective of this session was to provide an update on the implementation of the Annual Work Plans on Humanitarian Civil- Military Coordination for the five priority countries: Bangladesh, Indonesia, Nepal, Philippines and Myanmar, highlighting advances and lessons learned in CMCoord during 2018. Presentations delivered by country delegations were focused on the following topics: Response capacity analysis: providing a coherent understanding of how identified needs will be met and by whom during a disaster response. In Asia and the Pacific, local communities, governments, and militaries are the first responders, and it is therefore important to understand the specific roles they play and how the international community can best support their relief efforts. The specific focus of the RCG is to identify the comparative advantage and added value of military actors in meeting identified needs, while determining what military functions, appropriate relief tasks, and effects can be deployed by the military to support civilian-led response efforts and the rapid delivery of effective aid. Response modalities: identifying how assistance will be delivered, based on existing capacities as well as operational constraints. The RCG dialogue is key in highlighting what potential infrastructure barriers or logistical bottlenecks there may be in meeting the key needs of the affected people, as identified by the Disaster Impact Model (DIM). This analysis should inform discussions with military actors regarding the mobilization of capabilities to overcome these challenges. With an increasing number of governments in the region having their own disaster management agencies and corresponding national disaster coordination structures, efforts by the regional and international humanitarian community are focused on adapting the humanitarian coordination architecture to specific national contexts. In a response that is ‘as local as possible and as international as necessary,’ the objective is for the coordination architecture to be flexible and inclusive of various actors, including the military and police, recognizing their role as key operational partners for humanitarian action during disaster relief. Bangladesh In 2018, the Government of Bangladesh made progress in the following areas to ensure an effective and timely disaster response; the development of a DIM, needs analysis, response modalities, planning and advocacy. Based on existing and newly obtained data, the Government of Bangladesh reviewed the Earthquake Risk Management Plan and in March 2018 MoDMR organized a workshop in order to agree on a DIM. A review of existing resources (equipment, human resources, airlift, logistic capacities, debris management capacities, etc.) necessary to respond to an earthquake was then conducted, and the “procurement of Equipment & Specialized Vehicles for Search and Rescue (SAR) during Earthquake and other Disasters (3rd phase)” was then launched by the relevant authorities. Following this needs analysis, the Government of Bangladesh sought to identify and strengthen key response modalities, focusing on logistics and civil-military coordination. Specific actions taken include: Logistics: • An emergency logistics operational plan was incorporated into the national emergency operation centre (NEOC) procedures. • The Disaster Response Emergency Communication System (DRECS) was initiated, which aims to provide a sustainable communication system during a disaster. • The National Resilience Programme (NRP) was launched in November 2018, strengthening systems aimed at managing risks associated with mega disasters, and taking into consideration a disaster risk management scope that is risk- informed, gender-responsive and disability-inclusive. CMCoord: • Simulation exercises were conducted for cyclone, landslide, and storm surge scenarios, to strengthen disaster preparedness and response in the coastal region. • Civil-military coordination