Sunday 26 September 2010 :
Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) held in Japan
The United Arab Emirates represented by a delegation from the Abu Dhabi Police GHQ took part in the first meeting of the International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG) which was first held 20 years ago. Japan hosted the meeting which lasted for 3 subsequent days.
The UAE delegation was headed by Major Mohammed Abdul Jaleel Al Ansari, UAE liaison officer between the Ministry of Interior and the United Nations and Regional Chairman of INSARAG for Europe, Africa and the Middle East sector.
Major Al Ansari said the meeting discussed three major topics. The first day covered discussions on ways of preventing disasters and minimizing their potential effects. On the second day the meeting focused on the lessons learned from the devastating earthquakes that hit some countries, namely Indonesia in 2009, Haiti and Chili in 2010.
On the third day, he added, the attendees have discussed the mechanism of dealing with situations amid the disasters from the humanitarian and health perspectives. This phase is known as recovery and return to normal life, and requires joint international efforts to cooperate with the local authorities of the affected country.
The UAE delegation has also took part in the INSARAG’S Medical Committee activities. The committee sets the rules of medical services, and the role of the international Search and Rescue Teams is to provide these rules to their members and to the members of the affected community.
Major Al Ansari headed one of the Meeting’s sessions which discussed the achievements during 2009 and 2010 as well as the plan for the next year. Future projects, developing work mechanisms, expertise sharing in the field of disasters, and many other topics have also been discussed.
He pointed out that UAE participation in this meeting receives a great deal of attention from the higher leadership out of its keenness to demonstrate the national capabilities in the field of search and rescue. All requirements have been made possible to deliver appropriate form of assistance to the friendly countries facing disasters.