The NGO Coordination Committee for Iraq (NCCI) is an autonomous body created by NGOs working in Iraq, with the aim to promote information sharing and coordination. The purpose of the NCCI is to provide a forum for collective NGO activity to enhance the effectiveness of humanitarian action in Iraq at the national level.

NCCI will pursue three key objectives:

Objective One: To act as an independent, neutral and impartial NGO forum for coordination and information exchange among the NGO community on general and sectoral issues, and activities related to Iraq and its population, irrespective of ethnicity, politics, gender and religion.

Objective Two: To advocate that Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law are respected and to ensure humanitarian needs are identified, well lobbied for and met.

Objective Three: To commit to work together to enhance the capacity of the NGO community to deliver humanitarian and development assistance to the population of Iraq.

Principles guiding our conduct

The NCCI members reaffirm their commitment to the Code of Conduct of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and agree to abide by the ethical and professional standards set by the attached Codes, including the NCCI Code of Conduct.

The NCCI is open to NGOs who fulfill the following criteria : Are legally registered in their country of origin and in Iraq (proof of a pending registration is required), or that this NGO is funding registered NGO’s programs in Iraq .

Their NGO charter complies with the principles stated in the NCCI Charter, including the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief .

Demonstrate proven humanitarian activity to the NCCI and the Board .

Are sponsored by two members of NCCI .

Are approved by two thirds of the Executive Board.

Are committed to the principles contained in this Charter.

The NCCI is the sum of all its members.

All members are committed to actively contribute to the activities of the NCCI.

The NCCI aims to enhance coordination between NGOs operating in different regions of Iraq and accordingly will operate on a national level.

The NCCI will work in a manner which is independent yet complementary to other humanitarian agencies, and in liaison with relevant Iraqi ministries.

The effectiveness of the NCCI will be reviewed against its objectives quarterly to ensure that the organization continues to achieve its purpose.

Public Statements:

The NCCI will speak out publicly on matters of humanitarian concern and seeking consensus through circulation to all members to ensure statements reflect the view of two thirds of the voters.

Any member may reserve the right to register dissent from a public statement issued. In this case the statement will specify that it does not reflect the view of all members.

Code of Conduct The NCCI members are bound by the following principles:

Governance

Members

Members are expected to:

Accept and comply with the principles stated in the NCCI Charter, including the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and the NCCI Code of Conduct .

Actively participate in relevant coordination meetings and other fora such as the General Assembly meetings, the sectoral meetings and ad hoc working groups .

Provide regular updated information on their projects and activities as requested by the Executive Coordinator of NCCI .

Pay fees quarterly in advance.

The NGOs will be removed from the mailing list after a month of non-payment.

A special observer status is granted to the Red Crescent and Red Cross movements.

Other Participants

In order to preserve the free space for debate, participants other than members will be allowed to attend NCCI meetings with prior permission of the General Assembly, and after a proper presentation.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is composed of all NCCI members.

The General Assembly is the primary decision maker .

It has to identify issues for the development of NCCI’s strategic plan.

It votes on decisions, elects the Executive Board, approves the creation of working groups and endorses the appointment of the Executive Coordinator.

The General Assembly has the power to withdraw NCCI membership if the guiding principles and the Charter are not complied with.

If non-compliance is brought to the attention of the Executive Board a Conduct Review Body, which investigates the non-compliance, has to be set up to investigate and make recommendations to the General Assembly. The Conduct Review Body is composed by two nominated Executive Board members and three General Assembly members randomly selected.

The General Assembly meeting is a Head of Mission meeting held quarterly and chaired by the Chairman of the Executive Board. The location of each General Assembly will be dictated by the circumstances at the due time. Extraordinary sessions can be called under special circumstances. In the event of this all means of communication will be used to provide adequate notice to all NCCI members.

Regular Coordination Meetings will be held for NCCI membership at the location of each of the field offices. These meetings will be chaired by the Executive Coordinator and Field Officers respectively.

A quorum of 25% of the members is required for votes to be valid. Decisions are taken by a 2/3 majority of the votes. Votes can be expressed during the General Assembly, coordination meetings or electronically. Deadlines will be defined at the time of the vote.

The Executive Board

The Executive Board is comprised of seven members for a term of six months, renewable two times making the longest term possible eighteen months. Nominees are elected to the Executive Board by a vote of the General Assembly in accordance with the voting procedures established above. An NCCI host is automatically a Board member. At least four of the NGOs on the Executive Board must have ten years of field experience to ensure the Board has the capacity and experience to provide effective oversight of NCCI.

The Executive Board should elect a chairman who chairs the Executive Board meetings, the General Assembly and holds the casting vote. The chairman should be elected from one of the four experienced NGOs as mentioned above. The Executive Board should elect a treasurer who overviews the accounts and compliance with donor grant conditions and submits quarterly reports on the state of the accounts and grant compliance to the General Assembly

The Executive Board is responsible for:

Executive Coordinator

The role of the Executive Coordinator is to manage the NCCI.

The Executive Coordinator is appointed by the General Assembly according to an agreed selection process facilitated by the Executive Board. The position is a full time paid position, subject to funding.

The Executive Coordinator’s main responsibilities are as follows : Direct NCCI towards the achievement of the objectives set out in this Charter Promote coordination and debate on relevant humanitarian and development issues and priorities as identified by members Represent NCCI to relevant third parties.

- To download the NCCI Charter in English or in Arabic, click on the icons below :

NCCI Charter-English (55.2Kb)

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Objectives

The NCCI will pursue three key objectives :

* Objective One : To act as an independent, neutral and impartial NGO forum for coordination and information exchange among the NGO community on general and sectoral issues, and activities related to Iraq and its population, irrespective of ethnicity, politics, gender and religion.

* Objective Two : To advocate that Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law are respected and to ensure humanitarian needs are identified, well lobbied for and met.

* Objective Three : To commit to work together to enhance the capacity of the NGO community to deliver humanitarian and development assistance to the population of Iraq.

Guiding Principles

Our Conduct

The NCCI members reaffirm their commitment to the Code of Conduct of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and agree to abide by the ethical and professional standards set by the attached Codes, including the NCCI Code of Conduct.

The NCCI is open to NGOs who fulfill the following criteria:

*  Are legally registered in their country of origin and in Iraq (proof of a pending registration is required), or that this NGO is funding registered NGO’s programs in Iraq;

*  Their NGO charter complies with the principles stated in the NCCI Charter, including the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief;

*  Demonstrate proven humanitarian activity to the NCCI and the Board;
*  Are sponsored by two members of NCCI;
*  Are approved by two thirds of the Executive Board;
*  Are committed to the principles contained in this Charter.

The NCCI is the sum of all its members. All members are committed to actively contribute to the activities of the NCCI.

The NCCI aims to enhance coordination between NGOs operating in different regions of Iraq and accordingly will operate on a national level.

The NCCI will work in a manner which is independent yet complementary to other humanitarian agencies, and in liaison with relevant Iraqi ministries.

The effectiveness of the NCCI will be reviewed against its objectives quarterly to ensure that the organization continues to achieve its purpose.

Public Statements

The NCCI will speak out publicly on matters of humanitarian concern and seeking consensus through circulation to all members to ensure statements reflect the view of two thirds of the voters.

Any member may reserve the right to register dissent from a public statement issued. In this case the statement will specify that it does not reflect the view of all members.

Code of Conduct

The NCCI members are bound by the following principles:
1. The humanitarian imperative comes first free from religious and political agenda and economic gain.

2. Our activities will be free from exploitation and abuse of our positions and the resources at our disposal and for the sole benefit of vulnerable population.

3. We seek at all times to involve program beneficiaries in planning, implementation and monitoring of our humanitarian activities.

4. We hold ourselves accountable in the provision of assistance to our beneficiaries.

5. While recognizing the high-risk environment in which NGOs are currently operating in Iraq, NGOs carrying weapons risk placing the beneficiary population and their staff at unnecessary danger. Carrying weapons also sends a confused perception of our behavior and violates the basic humanitarian principles, which are providing assistance and not hurting people.

6. No armed belligerents in NGOs premises and vehicles.

7. No armed escorts in the provision of humanitarian assistance.

Governance

Members

Members are expected to :
* Accept and comply with the principles stated in the NCCI Charter, including the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief and the NCCI Code of Conduct ;
* Actively participate in relevant coordination meetings and other fora such as the General Assembly meetings, the sectoral meetings and ad hoc working groups ;
* Provide regular updated information on their projects and activities as requested by the Executive Coordinator of NCCI ;
* Pay fees quarterly in advance. The NGOs will be removed from the mailing list after a month of non-payment.
* A special observer status is granted to the Red Crescent and Red Cross movements.

Other Participants

In order to preserve the free space for debate, participants other than members will be allowed to attend NCCI meetings with prior permission of the General Assembly, and after a proper presentation.

The General Assembly

The General Assembly is composed of all NCCI members.

The General Assembly is the primary decision maker ; it has to identify issues for the development of NCCI’s strategic plan. It votes on decisions, elects the Executive Board, approves the creation of working groups and endorses the appointment of the Executive Coordinator.

The General Assembly has the power to withdraw NCCI membership if the guiding principles and the Charter are not complied with. If non-compliance is brought to the attention of the Executive Board a Conduct Review Body, which investigates the non-compliance, has to be set up to investigate and make recommendations to the General Assembly. The Conduct Review Body is composed by two nominated Executive Board members and three General Assembly members randomly selected.

The General Assembly meeting is a Head of Mission meeting held quarterly and chaired by the Chairman of the Executive Board. The location of each General Assembly will be dictated by the circumstances at the due time. Extraordinary sessions can be called under special circumstances. In the event of this all means of communication will be used to provide adequate notice to all NCCI members.

Regular Coordination Meetings will be held for NCCI membership at the location of each of the field offices. These meetings will be chaired by the Executive Coordinator and Field Officers respectively.

A quorum of 25% of the members is required for votes to be valid. Decisions are taken by a 2/3 majority of the votes. Votes can be expressed during the General Assembly, coordination meetings or electronically. Deadlines will be defined at the time of the vote.

The Executive Board

The Executive Board is comprised of seven members for a term of six months, renewable two times making the longest term possible eighteen months. Nominees are elected to the Executive Board by a vote of the General Assembly in accordance with the voting procedures established above. An NCCI host is automatically a Board member. At least four of the NGOs on the Executive Board must have ten years of field experience to ensure the Board has the capacity and experience to provide effective oversight of NCCI.

The Executive Board should elect a chairman who chairs the Executive Board meetings, the General Assembly and holds the casting vote. The chairman should be elected from one of the four experienced NGOs as mentioned above. The Executive Board should elect a treasurer who overviews the accounts and compliance with donor grant conditions and submits quarterly reports on the state of the accounts and grant compliance to the General Assembly.

The Executive Board is responsible for:

*  Supervision of the Executive Coordinator’s implementation of General Assembly decisions and NCCI’s strategic plan;
*  Oversight of internal NCCI policy development;
*  Approval of the agenda for General Assembly and coordination meetings submitted by the Executive Coordinator;
*  Hiring, suspending and firing the Executive Coordinator in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed with host NGO(s) and following the approval of the General Assembly;
*  Ensure interim cover of the Executive Coordinator;
*  Oversight of grants compliance and ensuring NCCI adheres to good financial management practices;
*  Approving the membership;
*  Approval of memberships applications;
*  Oversight of compliance with the Charter by the members of NCCI.

Executive Coordinator

The role of the Executive Coordinator is to manage the NCCI.

The Executive Coordinator is appointed by the General Assembly according to an agreed selection process facilitated by the Executive Board. The position is a full time paid position, subject to funding.

The Executive Coordinator’s main responsibilities are as follows:

*  Direct NCCI towards the achievement of the objectives set out in this Charter.
*  Promote coordination and debate on relevant humanitarian and development issues and priorities as identified by members.
*  Represent NCCI to relevant third parties.