International Search and Rescue Advisory Group - Establishment

Establishment

INSARAG was established in 1991 following initiatives of international USAR teams that responded to the 1988 Armenia earthquake and the 1985 Mexico City earthquake. The United Nations was chosen as the INSARAG Secretariat to facilitate international participation and coordination. The Field Coordination Support Section (FCSS), located within the Emergency Services Branch (ESB) of OCHA in Geneva, functions as the INSARAG secretariat.

INSARAG activities are guided by UN General Assembly Resolution 57/150 of 16 December 2002 on "Strengthening the Effectiveness and Coordination of International Urban Search and Rescue Assistance" and by the INSARAG Hyogo Declaration adopted at the first INSARAG Global Meeting in 2010 in Kobe, Japan.

The INSARAG Mandate entails the development of effective international USAR procedures and operational standards, implementation of UN General Assembly Resolution 57/150 of 22 December 2002 on “Strengthening the effectiveness and coordination of USAR assistance”, improving cooperation and coordination amongst international USAR teams at disaster sites, promoting activities to improve USAR preparedness in disaster prone countries, development of standardized guidelines and procedures, and sharing best practices amongst national and international USAR teams and defining standards for minimum requirements of international USAR teams.