In January 2016, NCCI organized three regional meetings for its Field Coordination Network (FCN). The meetings took place in Basra on 8 January 2016, in Erbil on 14 January 2016 and in Baghdad on 21 January 2016. During the meetings the FCN’s focal points (FP), who are representatives from local NGOs, discussed the quality of their field reports and ways to improve and streamline the information flow from the field. The participants also discussed their capacity building needs and nominated the training themes that they would like NCCI to build their capacities in during the next workshop, which is planned for March 2016. NCCI re-activated the FCN in January 2015 responding to the increased needs for better coordination and information…

On 12 January 2016 the NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) convened the first HR/Admin meeting of 2016. 26 NGOs attended the meeting, which took place at NCCI’s Erbil office. The HR/Admin meetings are one of the regular thematic meetings organized by NCCI and serve as a forum for NCCI’s members to share information and best practices related to human resource management and administration. The meetings are also a space to raise any HR/Admin related issues for which NCCI led common action is required, such as liaising with relevant government departments to ask clarification about laws and government policies. The meeting started with a discussion on the new Iraqi labor law. Next the participants discussed various practices regarding income tax…

On the 17th of December NCCI held a general coordination meeting at its office in Erbil. General coordination meetings are held on a monthly basis and can include a variety of topics related to NGO coordination as well as updates from NCCI and its network. OCHA’s civil-military liaison officer started the meeting with a briefing about OCHA’s civil-military deconfliction mechanism. Next NCCI’s Advocacy Working Group (AWG) introduced the currently existing task forces for returns, after which the information fact sheet on returns, a product of the AWG was presented. The attendants then discussed the proposed reform plans for the current return task forces. Next NCCI presented its online interactive NGO map, a tool which maps NGO activities throughout Iraq. NGOs…

The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) would like to wish its member NGOs and other humanitarian partners a merry Christmas and a happy 2016. 2015 has been an intense and fruitful year for NCCI.  First of all NCCI closed its office in Amman (Jordan) in July 2015, at the same time strengthening the office in Erbil. The enhanced capacity of the Erbil office allowed NCCI to expand its operations throughout the Kurdistan region of Iraq, delivering effective support to humanitarian cooperation and responding to members’ needs in the region. NCCI’s Baghdad office expanded its role as a coordination platform for NGOs in central and southern Iraq, often forming a crucial link between NGOs and the UN in Baghdad. NCCI…

The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) core task is coordination between NGOs operating in Iraq, which also includes facilitating contact between NGOs and the UN agencies operating in country.  In an attempt to bridge the gap between local NGOs and the UN, NCCI facilitated a meeting with UNAMI representatives and local NGOs in its Erbil office on 13 December. UNAMI is the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq, a political mission which is mandated to advise and assist the Iraqi government on issues including political dialogue, national reconciliation, human rights, humanitarian coordination and economic reform. UNAMI’s main objective for the meeting was to gain a more holistic understanding of the situation in Iraq from the perspective of Iraqi civil society…

In October 2015 NCCI reached out to NGOs operating in Sulaymaniyah. Following this first successful meeting it was decided to organize regular coordination meetings in Sulaymaniyah, the first of which was held on 26 November at CDO’s office. The coordination meetings in Sulaymaniyah serve three main purposes: first of all they are an opportunity for NCCI’s members based in Sulaymaniyah to take part in NCCI’s coordination activities. Secondly the meetings are a forum for NGOs in the governorate to input information and concerns to NCCI. Lastly NCCI feeds back information from its activities in Erbil and Baghdad to organizations operating in Sulaymaniyah. 15 local and international NGOs attended the meeting, which started with an introduction about the Civil Development Organization…