Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

RSIS established the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Programme in 2015 to facilitate and enhance cooperation on preparedness and response strategies. Aside from comprehensively investigating regional emergency response frameworks, governance issues, disaster preparedness strategies and the identification and development of response niches for civilian and military actors, the programme also seeks to develop the next generation of global leaders in HADR through roundtable sessions, dialogues and workshops. RSIS launched the Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) Programme on 21 July 2015 at the Copthorne King’s Hotel in Singapore. Presenting the keynote address at this event was Dr Noeleen Heyzer, Singapore’s highest ranking Singaporean in the United Nations, the UN’s former Under-Secretary-General and one of Singapore’s leading experts on HADR. More information on the launch can be found here.

The programme’s research areas include:

• Future HADR Landscape in Asia: Structures and Mechanisms. This first pillar of the programme tracks the emergence of new humanitarian actors (both state and non-state) and maps successes, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in preparing for disaster relief and conflict response in the region. This research area also focuses on the relationships between civilian and military actors and the emerging points of difference and convergence between the two in responding to HADR in the Asia-Pacific. It also evaluates the quality and impact of both military and civilian organisations’ emergency responses.
• Community Protection and Assistance. The second pillar focuses on the complex nature of humanitarian assistance that evolves from specific vulnerable communities’ varying and often limited capacities to protect themselves from impacts of disasters. This research area maps the most vulnerable populations to better characterise needs assessments and determine deployment of targeted assistance. In addition, one area of research in this pillar will highlight how women are disproportionately affected both during disasters and in response settings. This research will explore the transformative possibilities of the UN Security Council’s resolutions on the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda in creating sustainable policies, ensuring greater participation and facilitating the move towards a more gendered perspective on disaster response – a primary step in creating more resilient communities.
• Humanitarian Technology. The third pillar of the HADR programme examines the field of humanitarian technology [HUMTECH] as applied to a broadly defined context of crises encompassing both natural disasters and conflict zones. This research area identifies the impact technology has on humanitarian responses as well as the emergent challenges of information technology, big data and technological innovations in humanitarian action.

Latest Publications

IDSS Papers

• S. Nanthini, Humanitarian Diplomacy: A Tool to Rebuild Trust in the Humanitarian Sector, IDSS Paper IP24032, 22 March 2024.
• Alistair D. B. Cook, UN Summit of the Future: Prospects and Challenges, IDSS Paper IP24026, 19 March 2024.
• Alistair D. B. Cook, Saving Lives at Sea in Southeast Asia – Is a Course Correction Possible?, IDSS Paper, 29 February 2024.
• S. Nanthini, A Climate Security Priority: Australia’s Need for Balanced Domestic Disaster Infrastructure, IDSS Paper IP24013, 07 February 2024.
• Alistair D. B. Cook, Time for Change: Climate Considerations and Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination, IDSS Paper IP24004, 17 January 2024.
• Keith Paolo Catibog Landicho, Navigating the Climate Emergency: The Crucial Role of Adaptive Decision Support Systems in ASEAN’s Disaster Management, IDSS Paper IP23073, 18 October 2023.
• S. Nanthini, ASEAN’s Move Towards Proactive Disaster Management, IDSS Paper IP23061, 23 August 2023.
• Lina Gong, US-China Rivalry and Implications for Humanitarian Action, IDSS Paper IP23026, 20 March 2023.
• S. Nanthini, Anticipatory Action: A Stop-gap Measure for Disaster Management, IDSS Paper IP23024, 16 March 2023.
• Lina Gong, HADR Cooperation: Insights from Turkey’s Response to the Earthquake, IDSS Paper IP23023, 10 March 2023.
• S. Nanthini, Public Health Emergencies: Moving Beyond Ad Hoc Military Responses, IDSS Paper IP23019, 2 March 2023.

RSIS Commentaries

• Mely Caballero-Anthony, Alistair D. B. Cook and Jonatan Anderias Lassa, Disaster Management in Southeast Asia: 20 Years of Progress and Challenges, RSIS Commentary CO23028, 02 March 2023.
• Alistair D. B. Cook, Climate Change in Japan’s New Defence and Security Strategies, RSIS Commentary CO23009, 18 January 2023.

Event Reports

• ASEAN Strategic Policy Dialogue On Disaster Management (SPDDM) 2023, Event Report, (Singapore: RSIS Centre for Non-Traditional Security Studies (NTS Centre), November 2023).

NTS/Policy Reports

• Lina Gong and Alistair D. B. Cook, “Issues, Trends and Developments in Humanitarian Civil-Military Coordination in the Asia-Pacific”, RSIS Policy Report, 11 August 2023.
• Lina Gong, “Humanitarian Futures in Southeast Asia”, RSIS Policy Report, 26 June 2023.
• Alistair D. B. Cook, S. Nanthini, “Mitigate, Adapt, Prepare: A Climate Security Agenda for the ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting”, RSIS Policy Report, 19 June 2023.
• S. Nanthini and Sohini Bose, Multilateralism and Disaster Management in the Global South: A Case Study for the G20, Observer Research Foundation, 06 June 2023.
• Julius Cesar Imperial Trajano, Enhancing Nuclear and Radiological Emergency Preparedness and Response in ASEAN and Beyond: Regional Practices and Challenges, Asia-Pacific Leadership Network, 25 April 2023.

Chapters in Edited Books

• Alistair D. B. Cook, Christopher Chen, Lina Gong, and S. Nanthini, Pandemics and Disasters: Approaches for Dealing with Converging Risks in Southeast Asia in , Proceedings of the 1st ASEAN Cooperation Forum on Management of Non-Traditional Security (ACF-MNS 1). Hanoi, Vietnam: DHQG, 2023, pp. 700 – 721.

Journal Articles

• Lina Gong, and Dhanasree Jayaram, “Status-seeking through Disaster Relief Cooperation: China and India in Southeast Asia” in Contemporary Southeast Asia, Vol.45, No. 2, 2023, pp. 246-281.
• Angelo Paolo L. Trias, and Alistair D. B. Cook, “Military Humanitarian and Disaster Governance Networks in Southeast Asia: Framework and Analysis” in Disasters 47:1, 2023, pp. 205 – 241.

Op-eds

• Lina Gong, “Elevating Regional Status Through Disaster Relief: China’s Approach and Challenges”, Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, 29 November 2023.
• Lina Gong, “Partnerships in disaster relief – What is Southeast Asia Expecting?”, The Korean Times, 27 November 2023.
• Alistair D. B. Cook, “Climate Change, Environment and Humanitarian Action in Southeast Asia”, ICRC Law & Policy Blog, 28 March 2023.