INTERNATIONAL SEARCH AND RESCUE ADVISORY GROUP (INSARAG)

The INSARAG New Year Teleconference of Global, Regional, and Working Group Chairs was held remotely on January 17, 2023, and chaired by Ambassador Manuel Bessler. The AEME Chair, Col. Staff Mubarak Sherida Al-Kaabi joined the meeting in person in Bern. The meeting was attended by 43 participants.

The Panama National Accreditation Process Course took place from 12 to 16 December in Panama City. This course is a component of the Disaster Risk Governance Project, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and organized and implemented by OCHA and UNDP.

From 8 December to 11 December 2022, the Cyprus Civil Defence Team(CYP-1) successfully completed the IEC and has been classified as a Light Urban Search and Recue Team.

The Honduras National Accreditation Process Course took place from 5 to 9 December in Tegucigalpa. It is a component of the Disaster Risk Governance Project, financed by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), and organized and implemented by OCHA and UNDP.

Team Estonia successfully reclassified in the #EUModex Portugal. Congratulations!

The Heavy INSARAG External Reclassification (IER) of the Saudi Arabia Search and Rescue Team (SASART) - KSA-1 has been successfully completed. Congratulations!

The XXI INSARAG Regional Meeting and IX UNDAC Regional Consultative Meeting 2022 took place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from November 7 to 9, 2022, with a webcast in Spanish and English. The meeting was hosted by the Government of Argentina through the Argentine Agency for International Cooperation and Humanitarian Assistance Cascos Blancos of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship and organized jointly with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The reclassification exercise of the Japan Disaster Relief (JDR) Team has been successfully completed. Congratulations!

The INSARAG Asia-Pacific Regional Meeting 2022 took place in Seoul, Republic of Korea, on October 26-27th, 2022. Participants from 12 countries including Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Korea, Thailand, USA, and the AHA Center attended the meeting

Following the conclusion of a 24-hour assessment by a team of INSARAG assessors, the Singapore Civil Defense Force's (SCDF) USAR framework for their ORNS Rescue and Medical Units has been successfully accredited as of October 16th 2022! The INSARAG Secretariat congratulates SCDF on being the first organization in the Asia-Pacific region to undergo this accreditation.

A USAR Coordination Training of Trainers course was successfully held from 19 to 23 September in Selfoss, Iceland, with 24 participants from 14 countries. The course provided an opportunity for participants and course management to share ideas and provide input to the development of the TWG UC training package.

On 22 September 2022, the UK SARAID USAR Team became 3nd Light and 61st INSARAG Classified team since 2005.

The reclassification exercise of the Armenian medium urban search and rescue has been successfully completed. Congratulations!

Double Victory for Türkiye and all Volunteer Team GEA- Mother Earth-2nd Light and 60th INSARAG Classified team since 2005. CONGRATULATIONS!

From 27th June to 30th June, INSARAG peer expert Classifiers from 5 countries carried out the Classification of Urban Search and Rescue Team of the Tunisia Civil Protection's Special Unit. On behalf of the INSARAG community, the INSARAG Secretariat congratulates Tunisia to be the 59th country for having incorporated the INSARAG methodology and for meeting the international standards set by the INSARAG guidelines. Congratulations to the Tunisia Civil Protection’s Special Unit!

The Swiss government was pleased to host the INSARAG Earthquake Simulation Exercise 2022 ("SIMEX22"). 13 USAR Teams from 14 countries participated: Armenian, Australia, Austria, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Nederlands, Qatar, Spain, Turkey, UK, USA and Switzerland.

On behalf of the INSARAG community, the INSARAG Secretariat congratulates the Republic of Chile to be the 5th country for having incorporated the INSARAG methodology and processes into its national USAR structures!

The 6th INSARAG Recognised National Accreditation Process (IRNAP) completed for Cyprus, with strong support from Germany, France and Singapore. Congratulations to Cyprus as the 6th IRNAP !

Women provide the added strength necessary to our communities and USAR teams to meet the challenges of emergency disaster response. INSARAG is delighted to share photos of some of the women who make up the national Colombian USAR team. These women are strong, flexible, and empowered team members that drive, manage, and strengthen the emergency disaster response in Colombia.

From 25 April to 1 May, INSARAG peer expert Classifiers from 7 countries carried out the Re-classification of Urban Search and Rescue Team USA 1 Fairfax in Fairfax, Virginia. Congratulations to USA-01!

The INSARAG Steering Group Meeting was held on Tuesday 10th May 2022 and chaired by the INSARAG Global Chair, Ambassador Manuel Bessler. We thank 187 global INSARAG family members for joining us and making it a huge success.

The INSARAG Team Leaders Meeting and Technical Working Group Meeting were successfully held in Doha, Qatar from 7 to 11 March 2022. We would like to express our deepest appreciation for the warm hospitality provided by Qatar and the extraordinary contributions by our participants from over 40 countries.