If a link in the NCCI newsletter is not working anymore, it might be because the source of the document removed the article from the open access website. Generally you can EDITORIAL find it clicking here Issue 98 – February 7, 2008 ------Who can protect genuine NGOs in ?

It is impossible to give one unique definition for an NGO. According to the UNDP/Yale report on the role of NGOs in Development Cooperation, “in its broadest sense, the term "nongovernmental organization" refers to organizations (1) not based on government; and (2) not created to earn profit. While this broad definition of an NGO is correct semantically, it presents a problem in that it embraces a large number and wide range of organizations that are structurally and functionally unrelated. This broad definition of GHT

I NGO refers more to what an organization is not, rather than to what it is, and can be applied to many organizations.” L There are some widely recognised definitions such as the World Bank’s one which states H that NGOs are private organisations that pursue activities to relieve suffering, promote the interests of the poor, protect the environment, provide basic social services, or undertake community development. In wider usage, the term NGO can be applied to any non-profit G

I organisation which is independent from government. NGOs are typically value-based organisations which depend, in whole or in part, on charitable donations and voluntary service.

H For the UN, “A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented Y and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of service and L humanitarian functions, bring citizen concerns to Governments, advocate and monitor policies and encourage political participation through provision of information. They K provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements. Their relationship with offices and agencies of the E United Nations system differs depending on their goals, their venue and the mandate of a

E particular institution”.

In politicised contexts such as Iraq, where commercial or military entities are commonly blurring the line between agenda or economical-driven operations and genuine W humanitarian actions, it is nevertheless needed to go further in the definition of what is an I NGO. While NGOs are often presented as what they are not, there is the need to define on which definition humanitarian and development NGOs in Iraq agree on:

• NGOs apply to a strict definition of principles and standards of behaviour. They are voluntary non-governmental organisations engaged in serving the public good. • They are not-for profit and act to ensure that the basic and urgent needs of the most vulnerable are met. NCC • They are accountable and transparent. They are non-violent, neutral and impartial. • They are needs-driven. They agree that “humanitarian imperative comes first” and that their actions should not harm. • They are democratic and have a charter that defines their responsibilities and mission statements. • They are vigilant to avoid unintended and potentially harmful side-effects, and by consequence they are not supposed to carry weapons and don't have rules of engagement.

• They are involved in life saving or peace making, and those labelled humanitarian adhere to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and NGOs in Disaster Relief.

The lack of clear legislation in Iraq is of course a major problem. Indeed, according to the CPA1 order 100, in the absence of Iraqi domestic laws, CPA’s orders remain into force. Therefore, the CPA order 45 (amended by the Order 61) appears to remain the law that should regulate NGOs’ activities. Yet, the Order 45 was then-challenged by many NGOs and international actors. It was indeed not providing for rights of defense and appeal for the NGOs, and gives full power to the authority in charge of denying, suspending or revoking an NGO’s legal status. In addition, this procedure might constitute a violation of the following international conventions: Article 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights; Article 22 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and Article 63, part III of the 4th Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian persons in time of war. Thus, Order 45 obliges NGOs to follow a law that has the potential to violate basic civil and political rights.

However, regardless of these high concerns, Order 45 did not miss to define that an NGO is “an organisation […] that is organised to undertake […] any non-profit activity that serves the public interest”. Yet, despite this clear distinction that has been defined since 2003, private companies, governmental or military-oriented organisations continue to claim that they are NGOs, often through a “charity foundation” that hides most of their agenda or commercial interests. Now, these companies have been one step forward according to the last Health and Nutrition Sector Outcome Team’ minutes of meeting: One company, which “provide health service to US military staff and Iraqi Staff working [in BIAP]” attended this supposedly UN-NGOs meeting.

Where would be the limit? Will the military, Private Security Companies or militias that provide aid for their own agenda participate in such a meeting as well?

Who should draw the line between genuine humanitarian actors and commercial or military entities? And more important who should ensure that the already existing guidelines are respected?

The humanitarian action in Iraq is already polluted by politicised decisions and many organisations are not fulfilling their own principles in Iraq. Will such experience worsen the situation?

How could we reproach to genuine humanitarian agencies to be conservative in information sharing in such a context, when precaution is the only way, obviously, to protect staff on the ground, when information shared is not secured and can jeopardise field operations?

How much such an event may have an impact on the whole genuine humanitarian community’s credibility?

Should the lines be more blurred before the entire humanitarian community reacts?

------Salaam, NCCI Team

1 The CPA (Coalition Provisional Authority - http://www.iraqcoalition.org) was the US-led authority before June 28, 2004. It was led by US administrator L. Paul Bremer. NCCI Weekly Highlight 2 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

______Humanitarian Updates From NCCI , NGOs’ reports from the field and UN agencies

Advocacy

- New analysis 'confirms’ 1 million+ Iraq casualties Source: ORB Document: Press Release Date: January 21, 2008 Access: Open Further survey work undertaken by ORB, in association with its research partner IIACSS, confirms our earlier estimate that over 1,000,000 Iraqi citizens have died as a result of the conflict which started in 2003.

- Arrogance, Racism and American Exceptionalism: Iraqis Are People, Too Source: ICH Document: Video Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open Montel Williams "How many people have died in Iraq since January one? " Fox Host "It's about 20" Montel Williams "No its not about, it is 28" Montel was just counting the number of US Killed in Iraq, because for most US citizens Iraqis are not people. Do the math Montel. At least 541 Iraqi people and 28 US personnel = 569 people killed in Iraq in January.

- Palestinian refugees in Iraq call for unity Source: IMEMC Document: Press Release Date: February 2, 2008 Access: Open Palestinian refugee in Iraq, facing repeated attacks, abductions and killings, voiced an appeal to the Palestinian people in Palestine and to all factions in order to save them and place their issue as a high priority. The refugees called on all Palestinian factions to end the internal tension and to unite.

Operational Humanitarian Space

- Encroachment on NGO space Source: InterAction Document: Magazine Date: November 2007 Access: Open As nonprofits, we are continually forced to modify the way we work in order to stay relevant in this ever-changing environment and to advance our mission to make a real difference in the field. One of our most important and current challenges is the protection of the “NGO Space.” The NGO Space defines the scope of work we engage in surrounded by multiple actors, some supportive others not. It spells out our collective competencies and our capabilities. This space has grown over the last few decades and is built on the simple premise of our leading goal to effectively make a positive difference in the lives of the world’s poor and disadvantaged. InterAction works on many policies that threaten to limit or affect our operational space. Unchecked, these policies and practices would result in drastic restrictions on international NGO operations, affect the viability of our programs and increase aid worker security risks. This issue of Monday Developments broadly touches on various forms of encroachment on NGO Space and attempts to capture your voice on emerging threats and lessons learned.

- More relief aid needed in Mosul after blast Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open Essential relief items are needed to continue relief operations, and maintain an emergency stock, for affected families in the northern city of Mosul, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society (IRCS) said on 28 January.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 3 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- First Flight To Sulaimaniyah Source: Air Serv International Document: Press Release Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open Air Serv International expands flight schedule into Iraq in support of MSF-France and other humanitarian NGOs working in Kurdistan

Blurring the lines

- Medical Operation Helps Iraqi School Children, Families Source: American Forces Press Service Document: Press Release Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open Hundreds of Iraqi school children and adults received medical care Jan. 16, when soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division’s 1st Battalion, 320th Field Artillery Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, held a medical operation at central Baghdad’s Swaib school.

- AMSI Humanitarian Assistances Source: Iraq Solidarity Campaign Document: Press Release Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open The Iraq Solidarity Campaign would like to congratulate the efforts of The Association of Muslim Scholars in Iraq (AMSI), whose Baiji Branch has been providing substantial humanitarian and fuel assistance to the needy and displaced, including 600 families living in the area.

- Iraq Aid Boost to Follow Troop Withdrawal Source: The Age Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open Australia will step up its civilian commitments of aid and expertise to help with the reconstruction of both Iraq and Afghanistan while winding back its military presence in Iraq, Foreign Affairs Stephen Smith has announced.

- Shia call on Mehdi Army to take up arms again in Iraq Source: The Independent Document: Article by Patrick Cockburn Date: February 7, 2008 Access: Open Though they have closed their military offices, the Sadrists have a dense network of social and cultural activities and often provide the only assistance for poor families. Their help wins them strong support because a recent report by aid agencies said 43 per cent of Iraqis live in "absolute poverty".

Humanitarian Needs and Assistance

- Return to Fallujah Source: The Independent Document: Article by Patrick Cockburn Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open Three years after the devastating US assault, our correspondent enters besieged Iraqi city left without clean water, electricity and medicine. When I asked what the hospital lacked Dr Kamal said wearily: "Drugs, fuel, electricity, generators, a water treatment system, oxygen and medical equipment." It was difficult not to think that American assistance might have gone to the hospital rather than the business development centre.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 4 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Emirates send aid to Mosul Source: UPI Document: Article Date: January 31, 2008 Access: Open A cargo plane with 40 tons of humanitarian supplies arrived from the United Arab Emirates in Iraq's Mosul airport, a government report said. The government of the United Arab Emirates said in a release it dispatched its Red Crescent Authority to the hardest-hit areas in Mosul, which has been the target of militant attacks recently.

Food and Nutrition

- Food Security Sector Outcome Team Meeting Source: WFP Document: MoM Date: February 7, 2008 Access: Members Minutes of the last Food Security SOT meeting held in Amman on February 4th.

- Food Sector Strategy 2008-2010 - Draft Source: WFP Document: Draft Strategy Date: February 7, 2008 Access: Members Draft Strategy for the Food SOT for 2008-2010 for comments and feedbacks

- Iraq to scrap subsidized food rations by June Source: Azzaman Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open The government has decided to end the rationing food program which has staved millions of Iraqis from starvation. The decision, the government said, was in line with the obligations it has made to the World Bank. But Finance Ministry officials, refusing to be named, said they opposed the move and feared it could lead to unexpected hikes in food prices.

- Iraq Faces Severe Wheat Shortages In 2008 Source: Reuters Document: Article Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open Iraq may face its worst wheat shortages in years this year, aggravated by a delay in purchasing that clouds deliveries for the rest of the year. Food experts, millers, traders and even senior grain officials privately warn a crisis looms even though Iraq is about to return to the international market after a nearly four-month halt in new purchases.

Health & Mental Health

- Health and Nutrition Sector Outcome Team Source: WHO Document: MoM Date: February 2, 2008 Access: Members Minutes of the last Health and Nutrition SOT held in Amman on January 27, with the presence of the Iraq MoH.

- Health and Nutrition SOT criteria for membership - Draft Source: WHO Document: ToRs Date: February 3, 2008 Access: Members Key Health and Nutrition Criteria for Sector Outcome Team Membership as decided during the UN-NGO Health and Nutrition SOT retreat held on February 3rd in Amman.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 5 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- PU in Amman welcome 7 children on their way back home to Iraq Source: PU Document: Press Release Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open Last week on January 21st 2008, Première Urgence employees welcomed 7 Iraqi children returning from a stay in France. The 7 children suffering from different types of severe heart disease were successfully operated in France.

- ICRC helps victims of market blasts Source: ICRC Document: Press Release Date: February 2, 2008 Access: Open Immediately after the explosions that tore through Baghdad's Al Ghazl market place and a second market in the south of the city yesterday, killing and injuring dozens of people, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) provided the Baghdad Teaching Hospital with sufficient emergency medical supplies to treat over 100 injured patients.

- Iraq Braced for More Cholera Outbreaks Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting Document: Article Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open Disease currently contained, but experts say it will probably break out again in summer.

- Iraqi Nurses Struggle Against Medical Shortages, Violence, and Disease Source: Nurse.com Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open Inside the government-run Al-Alwiyah Pediatric Hospital in central Baghdad, nurse manager Kamel Mahdi darts through the corridors, units, and patient rooms in an effort to keep pace with the mounting challenges he faces.

- Iraq occupation leads to health crisis Source: Socialist Workers Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open Despite George Bush hailing the success of the "surge" strategy in Iraq, evidence that life for ordinary Iraqis continues to get worse is mounting. Kamel Mahdi is a nurse at Baghdad’s Al-Alwiyah Pediatric Hospital. She reports, "We’re not only facing an increase in the number of patients, but we are seeing more seriously ill and seriously injured patients."

IDPs

- IDPs Working Group Update Source: UNHCR Document: Report Date: February 3, 2008 Access: Members This IDP Update has been produced by IDP Working Group members (NGOs, IOM and UN Agencies). It is based on surveillance data gathered by IDP WG members, as well as information provided by the Ministry of Displacement and Migration (MoDM), the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), ICRC, and other NGOs. It is estimated that over 2.48 million people are currently displaced inside Iraq as of 31 December 2007.

- IDPs Working Group Source: UNHCR Document: MoM Date: January 27, 2008 Access: Members Minutes of the IDPs Working Group held in Amman on January 17th.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 6 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Iraq Displacement Assessment and Statistics report Source: IOM Document: Report Date: February 1, 2007 Access: Open The estimated number of displaced since 22 February 2006 is almost 1,270,000 individuals. This figure, combined with the 1.2 million individuals who were internally displaced before 22 February, results in an estimated 2.5 million IDPs in Iraq to date. Significantly fewer Iraqis were displaced in 2007 than were displaced in 2006, suggesting that internal displacement in Iraq has slowed. However, displacement continues to occur in some locations and the humanitarian situation of those already displaced is worsening. The limited returns that have occurred so far represent only a small fraction of the displaced population. Internal displacement in Iraq continues to be a major humanitarian crisis.

- Returnee Monitoring and Needs Assessments Source: MODM and IOM Document: Report Date: February 4, 2007 Access: Open In order to better target assistance and understand the returnee context, IOM, in cooperation with MoDM, has started Returnee Monitoring and Needs Assessments in Baghdad Governorate. Return movements continue as conditions deteriorate in places of displacement and security improves in some areas in Iraq. Return figures are difficult to measure since not all returnees are registering with MoDM or other sources, such as local councils. At the close of 2007 MoDM reported that 6,000 IDP families, about 36,000 individuals, had returned to Baghdad.

- Ministry plans to build houses to ease plight of displaced Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: February 6, 2008 Access: Open The Iraqi Ministry of Displacement and Migration is planning to build a yet undetermined number of residential compounds nationwide to ease the problems faced by over two million internally displaced persons (IDPs), a ministry official said on 6 February.

- Defence ministry asks IDPs to evacuate former military base Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open The Iraqi Ministry of Defence has given about 300 internally displaced persons (IDPs) one week to evacuate a former military compound in Babil Province, about 100km south of the capital, Baghdad, officials said on 25 January.

- Parliament allocates more money for IDPs – in English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open Another tranche of 350 million Iraqi dinars (about US$290,000) has been allocated by the Iraqi parliament to cope with the needs of internally displaced persons (IDPs), a lawmaker said on 23 January. "This amount will help displaced families living in makeshift camps and compounds which, for many reasons, did not receive enough aid from government and non-governmental organisations [NGOs]," Abdul-Khaliq Zankana, head of parliament's displacement committee, told IRIN.

Refugees

- Populations Displaced from Iraq – Operations Update #3 Source: IFRC Document: Report Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open This Emergency Appeal was initially launched on 16 April 2007 for CHF18,272,727 (USD 15,050,820 or EUR 11,119,092) for 12 months to assist 100,000 families. On 20 September 2007, the budget was revised to CHF 12,820,095 for 12 months to assist 50,000 families.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 7 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Severe cold weather pushing living costs to limit for Iraqi refugees Source: World Vision Document: Press Release Date: January 26, 2008 Access: Open For the 4 million displaced Iraqis across the region, the severe cold is compounding their already considerable hardships. Refugees describe their lack of basic necessities for winter living; adequate blankets, heaters, and fuel for cooking and heating. And the poor quality housing in which most refugees find themselves does little to keep out the elements. The price of Diesel (used for heating) is expected to jump by more than 60% over the coming months, and gas (used for cooking and heating) by more than 75%. It is the poorest that will be hit hardest by these hikes.

- Jordan Opens Schools to Iraqis, But Not All Come Source: Mercy Corps Document: Press Release Date: February 5, 2008 Access: Open Omar Al-Hmoud gets frustrated when Iraqi parents tell him they haven't enrolled their children in Jordanian schools because they soon expect to be resettled in another country. The deputy country director for Mercy Corps, an international nonprofit organization that provides aid to displaced Iraqis in Jordan, Mr. Al-Hmoud knows that resettlement can be an elusive dream. He's concerned that a generation of Iraqi young people are missing out on getting an education while their families wait to move elsewhere.

- UNHCR Syria Update on Iraqi Refugees Source: UNHCR Document: Report Date: February 4, 2008 Access: Members The latest information about UNHCR activities related to Iraqi refugees in Syria.

- Iraqi Refugees: Reasons to Hope Source: Refugees International Document: Article Date: January 26, 2008 Access: Open The 4.5 million refugees within and outside of Iraq require long term, comprehensive assistance until conditions in Iraq become safer for their return. Refugees International will continue our efforts to ensure that such assistance is given.

- Outside and Inside Iraq's Borders, A Forgotten Exodus Source: Washington Post Document: Opinion, by Kenneth H. Bacon and Kristele Younes (Refugees International) Date: January 20, 2008 Access: Open How has the United States responded to this crisis in a country whose security lies in its hands? Slowly and inadequately. The Bush administration has not done enough to help Syria and Jordan harbor the largest Iraqi refugee populations; according to U.N. figures, Washington spent about $105 million last year to help meet the refugees’ humanitarian needs, even though Jordan alone puts those costs at $1 billion a year. (The State Department says U.S. aid levels reached almost $200 million in 2007.) The administration isn’t doing its part to resettle Iraqis, either — not even former translators for the U.S. military whose lives are at risk. Since the war began in March 2003, the United States has admitted just 3,335 Iraqis for resettlement. Americans should be asking whether they can live with this. The refugees can’t.

- A Young Girl's Journey: From Iraq to Jordan Source: Save The Children Document: Article Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open Madona's father and mother married late in life and have only one child. Her father was a well-known painter and taught graphic art and drawing at the Academy of Art in Baghdad. Her mother was a teacher and taught at a primary school. "Who would have thought that life would turn out like this? We had everything we needed and life was good. And here we are, right in the middle of a slum," sighs Madona's mother, Eman.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 8 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Refugees are too scared to return to Iraq Source: The Times Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open A woman who lost her family highlights the plight of Iraq’s forgotten refugees

- More Iraqis flee to Europe Source: UPI Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open The number of Iraqis traveling illegally through Germany has dramatically increased in 2007. From January until September of last year, authorities caught some 1,162 Iraqis being trafficked to Germany, the country's federal police said, according to German news magazine Der Spiegel. That's more than double the amount of all of 2006.

Education – Child Protection

- Education Sector Outcome Team Terms of Reference - Draft Source: UNICEF Document: ToRs Date: February 7, 2008 Access: Members These terms of reference outline the coordination structure for development cooperation by the UN Country Team and other partners in the Education sector of Iraq. The framework is designed to reflect joint priorities, strengthen leadership and partnerships and improve operational predictability of humanitarian and development actors working in Iraq particularly in light of Security Council Resolution 1770.

- U.N. Grapples With Suicide Attacks by Children Source: IPS Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open The United Nations is expressing "serious concern" over the growing number of suicide attacks involving children, specifically in Afghanistan and Iraq. Full report on Children in armed conflicts

- The last solution for an Iraqi mother – in Arabic Source: Uppsala Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open The article talks about the “market” of children in Iraq due to the current situations a lot of families have to sell their children to survive. The story is about an Iraqi mother who is trying to sell her 4 month old daughter "Zahra" for 5oo$, and what happened to her that led to this decision. The original article in Swedish can be founded here.

- Orphans Face Uncertain Future Source: Institute for War and Peace Reporting Document: Article Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open Politicians calling for more support for the thousands of children orphaned by the conflict.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 9 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

Human Rights & Protection (and violations…)

- Arab rights charter deviates from international standards Source: UN News Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open The Arab Charter on Human Rights contains provisions that do not meet international norms and standards, including the application of the death penalty for children, the treatment of women and non-citizens and the equating of Zionism with racism, the United Nations human rights chief said today. Statement by UNHCHR on the entry into force of the arab charter on human rights

- "Iraqi Women's Cries: Stop the Humanitarian Catastrophe" – In Arabic Source: IAA Document: Speeches Transcriptions Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Members Opening speech & closing statement for the conference that was held between 26 - 27 Jan08 in Baghdad, in the name of the Iraqi Women's Movement in cooperation with IAA. The programme consisted of live testimonies and free discussion regarding tragedies of displacement, violent crimes against women, women trafficking and prostitution, the sufferings of young detainees and their families, tragedies of street children and drug addicts, deterioration of public services, including health and education.

- Violence Draws Veil Over Women Source: IPS Document: Article Date: January 31, 2008 Access: Open Conditions are particularly difficult for women in Baquba, despite the relative lull in violence. The city, about 40 km northeast of Baghdad, is capital of Diyala province, amongst the most troubled regions of Iraq in recent months.

- Operation Iraqi Freedom Enslaved Iraqi Women Source: Global Politician Document: Article Date: February 3, 2008 Access: Open Once the model of education in the Middle East, twelve years of grueling sanctions and three years of bloody occupation have left Iraq’s system in shambles, a generation of children both traumatized and, it seems, deprived of education. Pretty soon, Mrs. Bush will be able to correctly compare Afghan women’s prior situation with the Iraqi women’s current one.

- Iraqi women struggle to survive as violence claims their men Source: Mc Clatchy Document: Article Date: February 3, 2008 Access: Open Hanaa Edward, the head of the Iraq Al Amal Association, a human rights and women's rights group in Iraq, said unmarried or widowed women supported 11 percent of Iraq's more than 20 million families in 2005. Widows who register with the state receive about $40 a month, barely enough to survive on their own, let alone take care of their children.

- Iraq's Turkmen appeal for protection Source: AFP Document: Article Date: January 31, 2008 Access: Open Turkmen of Kirkuk, Iraq's northern oil hub which is riven with ethnic tension, called on Thursday for the government to protect them and indirectly threatened to create their own militia.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 10 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

Demining and MRE

- Operations support infrastructure development Source: MAG Document: Article Date: February 4, 2008 Access: Open On the formal request of the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), MAG has cleared a minefield which was preventing the reconstruction of a bridge linking Mosul and Dahuk gov’ates on a main trade highway to Syria.

- Ridding the community of SALW, a cruel enemy Source: MAG Document: Article Date: February 5, 2008 Access: Open MAG destroyed a cache of more than 200 small arms and light weapons (SALW) weighing around 1.7 tons (1,542kg) near Sulaimaniyah on Saturday.

- Summary of December Activities Source: MAG Document: Article Date: February 4, 2008 Access: Open Summary of demining activities for December 2007

- Government plans massive mine clearance operation – in English and Arabic Source: IRIN Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open Iraq is planning a huge mine clearance operation in a bid to rid itself of some 25 million unexploded mines in some 4,000 minefields, Environment Minister Narmin Othman said on 3 February. She said a detailed report on mine clearance plans would be presented to the government by September 2008.

Organisations and Agencies’ Communication

- Meeting of the Officers and Staff Source: Iraqi NGO Document: MoM Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Members The annual meeting of the officers and staff of the Association was held in Baghdad 0n 27 and 28 December 2007. The meeting was attended by 35 members of the Association representing Baghdad, Arbil, Sulaimaniya, Kirkuk, Karbala, Najaf and Nasiriya. Apologies were received from the representative of Tikrit due to ill health. The purpose of the meeting was to assess the activities from 01/10/2006 to 31/12/2007, draw up proposals for 2008 action plan and to achieve greater participation by the members in formulating the policies

______-----__ Iraq Context

General Overview

- Iraq Crisis Report (IraqHAR) Source: Centre of Excellence on Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Document: Weekly report Date: February 6, 2008 Access: Open A weekly Iraq humanitarian assistance report Compiled by Pacific Disaster Management Information Network

NCCI Weekly Highlight 11 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Juan Cole’s informed comment’s excerpts Source: Informed Comment – Juan Cole’s Web Blog. Document: Selection of daily comments Date: January 25 to February 7, 2008 Access: Open Juan Cole is a Professor of Modern Middle East and South Asian History at the University of Michigan. As such he brings daily much needed expertise and historical perspective to issues surrounding Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East. Good reading to have a weekly review of the Iraq daily situation.

Non-Violence and Reconciliation

- Iraq, Iran and Turkey Source: Center for Defense Information Document: Article Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open One year since the release of the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group report, WSI Senior Fellow John Newhouse revisits the Study Group's recommendations in his latest policy brief, "Iraq, Iran and Turkey: A Regional Approach." Newhouse argues that the United States must keep a low profile in Iraq and push for a regional framework for resolving the crisis. But it must also realize that bigger issues now threaten the region, such as how to deal with Iran and Turkey’s powder-keg situation in northern Iraq.

- Iraq: the politics of the local Source: Open Democracy Document: Article Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open Now that the first phase of the Iraqi civil war seems to have ended, it is time to consider the political processes it may have left in its bloody wake. It is crucial for Iraqis and others to get a sense of the stability and durability of present arrangements. Are they a mechanism for reconciling the ferocious enmities of the past five years in Iraq, or likely to lead to a more violent second phase of the civil war.

- Sovereignty Through Decentralization Source: Foreign Policy in Focus Document: Article Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open The claim that decentralizing decision-making power to local communities can strengthen national governments may seem like a contradiction. After all, the common assumption is that power concentrated at the national level strengthens a country’s autonomy. Therefore, how could national sovereignty possibly be reinforced if the responsibilities for planning and managing development programs are distributed among local people?

Iraqis Living Conditions

- Under Curfew, This Is No Life Source: IPS Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open A curfew means all public utilities and services cease. Life becomes frozen, and nobody is able to get to work. Factories and other utilities close, the wheel of the economy and development stops. "When the government imposes a curfew it does not think of those who have no salary," 39-year-old labourer Adnan al-Khazraji told IPS. "A very large number of people like me rely on daily income for their living. On the contrary, government employees feel safe whether there is a curfew or not because at the end of a month they receive the salary regardless of stoppage of work."

NCCI Weekly Highlight 12 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Iraq has million-woman social time-bomb Source: Alertnet Document: Article Date: January 31, 2008 Access: Open Every week, letters from Iraqi widows spill across Samira al-Moussawi's desk. One wrote to ask whether she should spend what scant money she gets on her infant or on school books for her older son. The member of parliament and head of a parliamentary women's committee is at her wits' end as to how to answer the desperate pleas from what could be as many as one to two million women.

- Baghdad: Horrors rampant in city 'full of sorrow' Source: CNN Document: Article Date: January 31, 2008 Access: Open The increase in U.S. troops in Baghdad over the last year has sharply reduced such violence. But the effects of the war on ordinary Iraqis go on and on. They're still haunted by the violence of the past, and almost everyone knows someone -- a family member or friend -- who has been killed or kidnapped. Almost all of the Baghdad residents who spoke to CNN said the surge has reduced violence, but they also said their capital is barely recognizable. Baghdad is largely chopped into sectarian blocks, each guarded by its own armed force, most supported by the United States. And many Iraqis still don't dare cross sectarian lines.

- "Reality Is Totally Different" Source: Tom Dispatch Document: Article by Dahr Jamail Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open Iraqis on "Success" and "Progress" in Their Country. This March 19 will be the fifth anniversary of the shock- and-awe air assault on Baghdad that signaled the opening of the invasion of Iraq, and when it comes to the American occupation of that country, no end is yet in sight. Once again, with rare exceptions, that media has had a hand in erasing the catastrophe of Iraq from the American landscape, if not the collective consciousness of the public. What, it occurred to me recently, do my friends and acquaintances back in Iraq (where I covered the occupation for eight months during the years 2003-2005) think not just about their lives and the fate of their country, but about our attitudes toward them? What do they think about the "success" -- and the silence -- in America?

Violence and (Un-) security

- 'People Say Things are Better, but it's Still Terrible here' Source: The Independent Document: Article by Patrick Cockburn Date: February 3, 2008 Access: Open For all President George Bush's claims of progress, cited in his final State of the Union address last week, Baghdad looks like a city out of the Middle Ages, divided into hostile townships. Districts have been turned into fortresses, encircled by walls made out of concrete slabs. Police and soldiers check all identities at the entrances and exits. "People say things are better than they were," says Zainab Jafar, a well-educated Shia woman, "but what they mean is that they are better than the bloodbath of 2006. The situation is still terrible." There are checkpoints everywhere. I counted 27 on the road from central Baghdad to Fallujah, 30 miles west of the capital.

- 'If there is no change in three months, there will be war again' Source: The Independent Document: Article by Patrick Cockburn Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open "If there is no change in three months there will be war again," said Abu Marouf, the commander of 13,000 fighters who formerly fought the Americans. He and his men switched sides last year to battle al-Qa'ida and defeated it in its main stronghold in and around Fallujah.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 13 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Did Rumsfeld Authorize War Crimes? Source: ICH Document: Article Date: February 5, 2008 Access: Open Wikileaks has obtained the long kept secret Rules of Engagement (ROE) for U.S. troops in Iraq. This document sets out the rules guiding authorized U.S. troop actions in that occupation. While the Wikileaks document dates from 2005, as these ROEs generally change slowly the rules for today are likely similar, though we can't be sure, of course, to what extent more recent ROE's differ. Among several interesting nuggets in the ROE, it provides indications that U.S. attacks likely to result in civilian deaths required authorization at the top of the Pentagon, by the SECDEF (Secretary of Defense). US Rules of Engagement for Iraq (From Wikileaks)

- Forlorn searches for thousands of missing Iraqis Source: Alertnet Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open Ali Faraj is just one among tens of thousands of Iraqis who have been killed or gone missing in sectarian violence following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled . Many of the missing are never found, while thousands of others end up in numbered mass graves for "unknowns", their identities reduced to a file number at the morgue and the cemetery for families hoping to track them down. Karim Faraj's daily trek is replicated many times across Iraq. The International Committee of the Red Cross estimates that 10,000 unidentified bodies were taken to Baghdad's main morgue in the year to August 2007 alone.

- US airstrikes on Iraq rise 500 percent Source: Socialist Workers Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open Though George Bush claims the 'surge’ brings peace in 2007 warplanes made 1,447 bombing runs According to figures released by the US military – known as "airpower summary of close air support missions" – in 2006 there were 229 US bombing missions. But last year this rose to 1,447 – more than a 500 percent increase.

- Bombs Away Over Iraq Looking Up Source: Tom Dispatch Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open Normalizing Air War from Guernica to Arab Jabour. Maybe then, it's time for Seymour Hersh to take another look. Or for the online world to take up the subject. Maybe, sooner or later, American mainstream journalists in Iraq (and editors back in the U.S.) will actually look up, notice those contrails in the skies, register those "precision" bombs and missiles landing, and consider whether it really is a ho-hum, no-news period when the U.S. Air Force looses 100,000 pounds of explosives on a farming district on the edge of Baghdad. Maybe artists will once again begin pouring their outrage over the very nature of air war into works of art, at least one of which will become iconic, and travel the world reminding us just what, almost five years later, the "liberation" of Iraq has really meant for Iraqis. In the meantime, brace yourself. Air war is on the way.

- In Iraq, Three Wars Engage U.S. Source: Washington Post Document: Article Date: February 2, 2008 Access: Open Three separate but related wars are being waged in this country now, and the third one, against Shiite extremists, is the most worrisome, according to the commander and senior staff of the U.S. Army division patrolling Baghdad.

- Militants stake claim on Diyala River valley Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: February 5, 2008 Access: Open U.S. forces chase them from town to town but they survive, terrorizing the populace.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 14 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- Iraq’s Jassim: Mosul worse than imagined Source: Middle-East Online Document: Article Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open The situation in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, rocked by blasts blamed on Al-Qaeda, is "worse than imagined," the defence minister said, as troops were poised for an assault on the jihadists.

- Iraq Most Dangerous Place for Christians? Source: CBN Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open An Englishman who pastors a church in Baghdad says the city is the most dangerous place in the world to be a Christian. Canon Andrew White, known as the "Vicar of Baghdad," recently sat down with CBN News and talked about the plight of Christians in Iraq.

- False Sense of Security in Iraq Source: Foreign Policy in Focus Document: Article Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open The Pentagon ushered in the New Year with seemingly welcome news: Iraq's security is improving. Attacks across the country fell 62 percent and, according to aid organization Iraqi Red Crescent, 20,000 Iraqi refugees returned home from Syria in December alone. The U.S. troop surge must be working. Even the Democratic opponents of President George Bush's agenda in Iraq are befuddled by the news, unclear how to proceed.

- Iraq works to clean up national police Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: February 6, 2008 Access: Open Training, integration and anti-corruption efforts are aimed at creating a force that will contribute to the country's stability.

- Former Hussein supporters live in fear in Iraq Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: February 3, 2008 Access: Open Those who belonged to the dictator's party watch in horror as fellow ex-Baathists are killed, even beheaded.

“Reconstruction” is not going so well…for Iraqis

- Quarterly Report and Semiannual Report to Congress Source: SIGIR Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open Success in the continuing U.S. relief and reconstruction efforts in Iraq in 2008 will depend substantially on the Government of Iraq's capacity to employ its own reconstruction resources in support of a national recovery plan. 2008 will be a Year of Transfer for the U.S. program, with a number of important milestones to meet. Three key developments will affect the Year of Transfer. First, Iraq's national income could substantially exceed expectations because of the rise in oil prices and production. Second, four pending legislative and constitutional measures could significantly affect governance in Iraq. Third, Iraq is expected to assume primary security responsibility for all 18 provinces in 2008. This evolution in security will affect the U.S. role in Iraq's reconstruction. SIGIR Observations January 30, 2008 Quarterly Report and Semiannual Report to Congress (12,1 MB) Section 2 Update on Iraq Reconstruction (9,7 MB) Excerpt: ESF allocations NCCI Weekly Highlight 15 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- U.S. Failed to Oversee Corps on Iraq Work, Agency Says Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open A federal report released Tuesday says the Army Corps of Engineers charged the government hundreds of millions of dollars for supervising projects in Iraq that have been identified as having failed or fallen behind schedule specifically because oversight was lax or nonexistent.

- An American Builder’s Failures in Iraq are Found to have been more Widespread Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: January 29, 2008 Access: Open Rebuilding failures by one of the most heavily criticized companies working in Iraq, the American construction giant Parsons, were much more widespread than previously disclosed and touched on nearly every aspect of the company’s operation in the country, according to a report released Monday by a federal oversight agency.

- Iraq power outage prompts Babil threat Source: UPI Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open Iraq's national power outage has prompted the head of Babil province to send Baghdad an ultimatum: Give us electricity or we'll take it.

- No improvement in electricity output Source: Azzaman Document: Article Date: January 28, 2008 Access: Open There has been no improvement in the production of electricity in the country in the past 12 months, Minister of Electricity Kareem Waheed said. Waheed warned hard-hit Iraqi households not to expect better power supplies before 2011.

Iraqi Political process

- Iraq’s New “Accountability and Justice” Law Source: International Center for Transitional Justice Document: Briefing Paper Date: January 22, 2008 Access: Open The International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) has monitored De Ba’athification issues closely since 2003. The ICTJ wrote to senior Iraqi leaders in December 2007, alerting them to concerns of potential flaws in the new law. The text approved in January 2008 differs from earlier drafts in several important aspects, most particularly because it does not dissolve the HNDBC. This and several other changes may have been the political price exerted by Sadrist parliamentarians for the law’s passage. This document is intended to provide a short summary and preliminary analysis of key aspects of the new Accountability and Justice Law. Non official translation of the law

- ’ Power Wanes as Arab Anger Rises Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open As a minority group in Iraq, the Kurds have enjoyed disproportionate influence in the country’s politics since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003. But now their leverage appears to be declining as tensions rise with Iraqi Arabs, raising the specter of another fissure alongside the sectarian divide between Sunnis and Shiites.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 16 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

Rule of Law

- Radical Shiite cults draw concern in southern Iraq Source: Los Angeles Times Document: Article Date: January 26, 2008 Access: Open On Al Arabiya TV on Reidar Visser, a historian and Iraq expert who edits the website historiae.org, said he believes the government is overreacting to a small minority group. So far, there has been no decisive proof that Mahdists have risen in revolt, he said. Friday, secular Shiite lawmaker Iyad Jamaluddin said the government should be careful how it characterizes the group. "The Iraqi Constitution ensures the freedom of thoughts and expression, and it's not the government's right to describe [the group] as blasphemous," he said. "Even Al Qaeda has not been described as this."

- Market bombings: Baghdad locals want security, not Iraqi police Source: The Christian Science Monitor Document: Article Date: February 4, 2008 Access: Open The Monitor accompanied a high-level militia member on a walk through an area near Friday's bombing. "We are an independent state; no police or army is allowed to come in," proclaims Khalid Jamal al-Qaisi, deputy leader of the US military-backed and predominantly Sunni Arab militia in charge of security in the old Baghdad neighborhood of Al-Fadhil.

Policies and Strategies

- Iraq Benchmark Report Card: 3 of 18 Total Benchmarks Accomplished Source: Center for American Progress Document: Report Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open On the one year anniversary of President Bush’s State of the Union address justifying his "New Way Forward" in Iraq, it is clear that the surge has failed to meet its objectives. One year ago, the president pledged that “America will hold the Iraqi government to the benchmarks it has announced." Despite the fact that the Iraqi government has only met three of the 18 benchmarks laid out last year, an end to U.S. military and financial commitment is nowhere in sight.

- US Military Breaks Ranks: Part 1 A salvo at the White House and Part 2 - Troops felled by a 'trust gap' Source: Asia Times Document: Series of Articles Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open How the "surge" succeeded - or even whether it has succeeded - is a source of constant commentary in military circles. But military officers say that the American public should not be fooled: the relative quiet in Iraq - and it is, after all, only a "relative quiet" - does not mean the "surge" has worked, or that the problems facing the US military have somehow magically gone away. Quite the opposite. For while the American public is consumed by the campaign for the presidency, the American military is not. Instead, they are as obsessed now, in January of 2008, with the war in Iraq as they were then, in 2003 - except that now, many military officers admit, the host of problems they face may, in fact, be much more intractable.

- The Iraq project Source: Open Democracy Document: Article Date: January 31, 2008 Access: Open In sum, the United States plan for Iraq is to establish a series of tight political mechanisms of control deriving from the original CPA-era agreements; a huge embassy-based structure [30] in Baghdad to oversee and maintain these; immunity for over 300,000 foreign personnel; and continuing, direct authority over and access to Iraqi detainees. The entire operation is to be secured by the US military and its private contractors, increasingly protected by the use of air power. This ambitious project is hardly consistent with the idea - still the official line propagated by Washington, and uncritically recycled by much of the establishment media - that the US's political objective is to bolster the independent governance of Iraq by the Iraqis themselves. NCCI Weekly Highlight 17 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- U.S. Asking Iraq for Wide Rights on War Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open With its international mandate in Iraq set to expire, the Bush administration will insist that the government in Baghdad give the United States broad authority to conduct combat operations and hold battlefield detainees, as well as guarantee American troops and civilian contractors immunity from Iraqi law, according to administration and military officials. This negotiating position faces a potential buzz saw of opposition from Iraq, with its fragmented Parliament, weak central government and deep sensitivities about being seen as a dependent state, these officials said.

- US troops will be gone within 10 years, says Iraqi minister Source: The Independent Document: Article by Patrick Cockburn Date: January 25, 2008 Access: Open The Republican presidential candidate, Senator John McCain, caused anger among Iraqis this month by saying during the New Hampshire primary that US military forces might stay in Iraq "for 100 years". Mr Zebari, asked by The Independent in Baghdad if the American army would be in Iraq in 10 years, said: "Really, I wouldn't say so."

- New commander's Baghdad strategy: 'preserve gains' Source: The Christian Science Monitor Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open Incoming US Gen. Jeffery Hammond plans to add US-Iraqi command outposts.

- Leak on Cross-Border Chases From Iraq Source: New York Times Document: Article Date: February 4, 2008 Access: Open American military forces in Iraq were authorized to pursue former members of Saddam Hussein’s government and terrorists across Iraq’s borders into Iran and Syria, according to a classified 2005 document that has been made public by an independent Web site. It also provided instructions for how to deal with the radical Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr: his status as a hostile foe was “suspended,” and he and his key associates were not to be attacked except in self-defense.

- War 'success' is just a myth Source: Houston Chronicle Document: Opinion Date: January 26, 2008 Access: Open As the fifth anniversary of Operation Iraqi Freedom nears, the fabulists are again trying to weave their own version of the war. The latest myth is that the "surge" is working.

- Turkey will not launch wars against Kurds Source: Ria Novosti Document: Opinion Date: January 14, 2008 Access: Open In short, a war against Turkey is the last thing Iraqi Kurds want. Turkey does not need a war either, but it cannot sit on its hands and so is delivering pinpoint strikes in . And this is all it will do in the next few months.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 18 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

______Humanitarian world perspectives & Quality of Aid

- International Crisis Watch Source: International Crisis Group Document: Monthly Indicators Date: February 1, 2008 Access: Open CrisisWatch indicators - up and down arrows, conflict risk alerts, and conflict resolution opportunities - are intended to reflect changes within countries or situations from month to month, not comparisons between countries. For example, no "conflict risk alert" is given for a country where violence has been occurring and is expected to continue in the coming month: such an indicator is given only where new or significantly escalated violence is feared.

- Counting Deaths to Save Lives Source: IRC Document: Article Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open A new IRC survey has found that 5,400,000 people have died from war-related causes in Congo since 1998 – the world’s deadliest documented conflict since WW II. The vast majority died from non-violent causes such as malaria, diarrhea, pneumonia and malnutrition—easily preventable and treatable conditions when people have access to health care and nutritious food.

- Report urges more action, less rhetoric Source: UPI Document: Article Date: February 4, 2008 Access: Open A U.N. report says there is a gap between conflict-prevention rhetoric and action on the ground to prevent violent conflicts.

- Child Protection in Emergency: Priorities, principles and practices Source: Save The Children Document: Policy Brief Date: January 24, 2008 Access: Open This document details both Save the Children’s current perspective on the main protection dangers that children face in an emergency and how to address them. While this document does not aim to provide an all- encompassing strategy, it does provide Save the Children’s alliance members and partners with a clear framework for the protection of children in emergencies by outlining a common definition and approach, programmatic priorities, useful programme examples, and the relevant legal framework and standards. Finally, the document serves as an extensive reference to additional guidelines, tools and other materials useful to practitioners and policy-makers.

- Up to 300,000 children worldwide recruited to fight in wars Source: UN News Document: Article Date: January 30, 2008 Access: Open While precise estimates are difficult to come by, some 250,000 to 300,000 children globally are being recruited to fight in armed conflicts in violation of international law, a United Nations official said today, reporting mixed progress in efforts to tackle the problem. Full report on Children in armed conflicts

- Aid effectiveness: the role of qualitative research in impact evaluation Source: ODI Document: Article Date: December 2007 Access: Open Background note examining different approaches to increasing aid effectiveness, with a particular emphasis on the role randomised control trials could play.

NCCI Weekly Highlight 19 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

February 2008 Security Trend Analysis ------

The February 2008 Security Trend Analysis provided by the NCCI Team is an informational and advisory report to NGOs on possible threats and incidents based on the current trends in violence and armed groups activities.

This trend analysis is only a basic overview and guideline and is targeted for HoM and security specialists as an addendum to their own information sources, analysis and reactions.

The following trend analysis is formatted to inform HoM of possible eruptions of violence or decreasing security. Obviously, in the current context of daily violence and civil war, this monthly trend analysis may lose its strategic impact to forecast events of the coming period in view of the volatile security situation and frequent reprisals.

The NCCI Security Trend Analysis is available for our members only on our website in the Security Section

------February 2008 Significant Dates

(Feb-01) / Muh-23 Samarra Bombing Anniversary - Destruction of Imam Askari Shrine (1427)

(Feb-03) / Muh-25 Martyrdom Imam Ali Zainul Aabedin / Al Qadisyia Battle Anniversary

Feb-08 Anniversary of Baathist Revolution against Qasim's regime (1963) (Feb-08) / Saf-01 Kerbala Battle’s hostages’ arrival in Syria / Safeen Battle Aniversary

(Feb-14) / Saf-07 Imam Musa Al-Kadhom Birthday

(Feb-16) / Saf-09 Anniversary of Amar Bin Yaser Martyrdom / Al- Nahrawan Battle Anniversary

(Feb-20) / Saf-13 Martyrdom Sayyida Sakina Anniversary

Feb-22 Samarra Bombing Anniversary - Destruction of Imam Askari Shrine (2006)

(Feb-23) / Saf-16 Saddam Hussein Birthday (1356)

Feb-24 / Saf-17 Martyrdom Imam Ali Ridha Anniversary

Feb-27 / Saf-20 Arbae'en (40's day of Imam Hussein's Death)

NCCI Weekly Highlight 20 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

January 2008 Monthly Prices Indicators ------

NCCI is following Prices Indicators in Iraq since 2003. The purpose of these indicators is to help NGOs to have a concrete idea of the trend of the prices in Iraq.

The current surveys cover Baghdad and Basra. We also have the aim to cover other areas (North…) in cooperation with other NGOs and partners.

Methodology:

This trend analysis is based on a qualitative compilation of prices (not quantitative). Statistics presented here are collected weekly in wholesale markets and may not reflect real retail prices. We are interested in the trend and not the real price. The prices below represent a monthly average. All prices are in Iraqi Dinars.

The NCCI Prices Indicators are available on our website for our members in the Indicators Section

Since March 2006 we have changed the items in order to be more accurate and have more appropriate prices with the Iraqis’ reality. This report is divided in 5 sections: Food; Construction; Transports – Communication; Energy and Living costs.

For Baghdad, we are able to add graphs showing the evolution of these prices. In each table we already added a column showing the monthly evolution. The graphs accompanying these tables are formatted from a base-price (100) as March06 indicator. Regarding Basra prices, it is still too recent to show any evolution.

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NGOs 2007 Salary Scale Survey ------

¾ This survey has the aim to give a clearer picture of National Staff’s salaries in the NGOs working in Iraq in order to enable them adjusting the salaries of their staffs in Iraq, Jordan and Kuwait.

¾ The survey has an advice purpose ONLY and it reflects the NGOs salaries in 2007. NCCI members had sent the information between August and November 2007 and therefore this survey does not have the aim to show trend in salaries for 2008.

¾ The salary scale survey is addressed to NCCI members only and it should not be forwarded to any one for security purposes.

¾ The members were requested to fill in the attached table “salary survey” (annex 1) providing the following information:

- The positions existing in their organization - The base-salary for each position - Currency in which the salary is given - Per Diems in Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait and eventually other countries - Allowances - Insurance (if provided or not). If yes Kind of insurance amounts of coverage, costs of insurance, type of staff

NCCI Weekly Highlight 22 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008

- covered. This Page is your page

If you------have an announcement (training, workshop, etc) regarding your organisation, if you are aware about meetings, events, humanitarian update, if you would like to make known some information, please send them to [email protected]

Weekly Schedule

The CAP will be officially launched on February 12th in Baghdad. We encourage you to check regularly our W eekly Schedule on our Website for updates. We have added on our weekly schedule some events hold in Iraq or Jordan that concern only specific invited people. They are highlighted as “restricted”. This is to give better information on what is going on to our members.

Upcoming important dates

Feb-07 King Hussein Death’s Anniversary and King Abdullah’s accession to the throne (Jordan)

Feb-08 / Anniversary of Baathist Revolution against Qasim's regime (1963) Saf-01 Kerbala Battle’s hostages arrival in Syria / Safeen Battle

Feb-14 / Saf-07 Imam Musa Al-Kadhom Birthday

Updates & Announcements

NCCI Workshop on Creative Programming in a Conflict Environment

NCCI will hold a workshop on Creative Programming in a Conflict Environment on February 10th, between 1pm and 5pm in Amman. This event will be participatory and interactive. Recognizing that every conflict is different, the work shop will be designed to provide you and your colleagues with an opportunity to “think out of the box” about programming options in Iraq, and how creative ideas can be translated into concrete action on the ground. Please contact NCCI ASAP to check availabilities if you are interested to participate. ------NCCI / UNDP National Dialogue Phase 2 Strategic Planning meeting

Before the launch of the second phase of NCCI / UNDP National Dialogue Programme, eighteen participants including UNDP, NCCI, academics, CSOs, and two experts will meet in Amman this week. They will seek to establish Campaign message s for CSOs and academics; establish selection criteria of the CSO’s for participatory approach initiatives; create a steering committee for the programme; and determine outreach modalities, timelines and events to deliver campaign messages. More information on NCCI / UNDP National Dialogue programme phase 2 will be diffused in the following weeks. ------Workshop on Non-violence as a mean for change

The I raqi Development Institution in cooperation with the Mesalla Network will hold a workshop on Non Violence as a mean for change in Nineveh in March 2008. A number of participants from this workshop will be chosen to attend a conference for the non violence that will be held in Amman mid-2008. Interested participants can apply filling-up the form available on our website. Closing date to apply February 28th, 2008. ------Watch and Share Films from Iraq http://w ww.iraqiscope.org is an online platform for films and clips made in Iraq. Amateurs and professionals can easily register, upload films and present their work to a worldwide audience. Iraqiscope.org currently features more than 140 films, many of them with English subtitles.

NCCI’s Contact List

NCCI Weekly Highlight 23 Issue 98 – 02/07/2008