NCCI Mission Statement: “NCCI is a member-led organisation that coordinates principled, collective NGO action in order to foster development, address humanitarian needs, and promote respect for rights in Iraq.”

The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq, or NCCI, is an independent initiative that was launched by a group of NGOs present in Baghdad in April 2003. At the time of inception, the 14 original members focused on establishing a base for objective aid coordination, highlighting intervention priorities and optimizing aid responses in Iraq. NCCI’s activities eventually evolved in accordance with the changing situation in Iraq, and in turn the organization developed into a comprehensive forum where NGOs can exchange information regarding humanitarian activities and policy decisions in Iraq.

NCCI continues to perform its role in advocacy and lobbying inside and outside Iraq, in addition to acting as a link for information sharing in regards to humanitarian needs and assistance. While membership was originally limited to international NGOs, in 2005, as an effort to focus on the empowerment of Iraq's civil society, NCCI reviewed its structure and opened up membership to national NGOs, which greatly enhanced their links with the international aid community. NCCI now has 105 NGO members, and 6 observer NGOs, who are international and national organizations operating in Iraq and involved in all sectors of humanitarian and development work.

“Third parties - UN agencies, Iraqi authorities, other NGO platforms and donors - also participate in the exchange of information facilitated by NCCI on relevant humanitarian and development issues in Iraq.”

NCCI organized and facilitated the Emergency Working Group in Baghdad, and has been active in the combined UN/NGO Emergency Meetings by coordinating between UN agencies and NGOs in the field. Currently NCCI is also facilitating HCT elections and functions as a secretariate for HCT NGOs. This important role in emergency coordination requires NCCI to maintain coordination offices in Baghdad, Erbil and Amman to ensure that urgent needs relating to emergency situations are met with efficiency.

“The common objectives of NCCI's members are to meet the needs of the most vulnerable Iraq people – to be able to access these groups, to assess and respond to acute needs and also for the population to have access to appropriate services.”

The direct beneficiaries of the services provided by NCCI are the member organizations, followed by the greater NGO community in Iraq (national & international) and UN agencies. Indirect beneficiaries are the Iraqi communities who directly benefit from NGO projects, since NGOs are assisted by the information exchange, capacity building workshops and security awareness initiatives that are facilitated by NCCI.