According to its mandate, the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq needs to “coordinate principled, collective NGO action in order to foster development, address humanitarian needs, and promote respect for rights in Iraq”. In order to effectively coordinate collective NGO action, NCCI organizes monthly meetings to coordinate and share information on issues pertaining to NGOs in the current emergency, both in Erbil and Baghdad.

On 19th January NCCI held the first general coordination meeting in Baghdad. The meeting was attended by seven international NGOs. As this was the first general coordination meeting of the new year, the meeting started with an update on NCCI’s coordination efforts in Iraq, such as the Baghdad Safety and Security Group and the Admin/HR Working Group. The participants also discussed the strategy for gathering and communicating advocacy issues to the Advocacy Working Group (based in Erbil). The attending organizations then provided a brief on their projects for 2015, and identified and discussed possible obstacles in the implementation of these projects.

On 21st January NCCI also held a general coordination meeting at its office in Erbil. Attending the meeting were seventeen international and two local NGOs. During the meeting, two OCHA staff members provided a presentation and Q&A session about the CERF and CBPF process in Iraq and on the establishment of a civil-military working group. NCCI also briefed the participants on its general coordination activities and on the latest activities of the Advocacy Working Group.