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Contact INSARAG is directed by a Steering Group, which consists of INSARAG Chairperson, INSARAG Secretary (which is held by the Chief of Emergency Response Section at UN OCHA), Chairpersons of Regional Groups, Vice Chairpersons of Regional Groups, national focal points of INSARAG External Classification (IEC) classified countries and Chairs of any relevant Ad-hoc working groups.
The INSARAG Secretariat seat is the Emergency Response Section (ERS), UN OCHA, located in Geneva, Switzerland. The task of the INSARAG Secretariat is to organise INSARAG meetings, workshops, INSARAG External Classifications (IECs) and training events in cooperation with host countries.
The INSARAG Regional Groups are arranged as follows: Africa/Europe/Middle East Region, Americas Region, and Asia/Pacific Region. These Regional Groups meet annually to take measures to strengthen regional USAR response and ensure the strategic direction and policies from the Steering Group are implemented, and to assimilate relevant information from participating countries for submission to the Steering Group.
Task specific Ad-hoc Working Groups may be established from time to time at the request of the Steering Group, the Regional Groups or USAR Team Leaders. These groups are staffed with personnel who have the relevant experience and qualifications to address the issues under discussion and include a representative from the INSARAG Secretariat.
The INSARAG Secretariat convenes an annual USAR Team Leaders’ Meeting for all registered international USAR Team Leaders. These meetings provide a forum to discuss technical issues relating to training and best practice based on lessons learned from previous USAR operations and exercises.
