	Introduction

Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 and a permanent (4 year) Iraqi government is now running the day-to-day operations of the country. On January 30, 2005, elections were held in Iraq for a transitional National Assembly and a permanent constitution was adopted on October 15, 2005. On December 15, 2005, elections were held for a permanent (4 year) national assembly, and on May 20, 2006, Prime Minister designate Nouri al-Maliki was named and won approval of a 37-member cabinet. However, even with some relative success recently as a result of additional U.S. forces ("troop surge") to help stabilize Baghdad, coalition forces continue to combat insurgents and are attempting to improve the security situation in Iraq. Also, the current refugee crisis and internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Iraq have become another major challenge for the Iraqi government and its neighboring countries. This report provides an annotated list of U.N. agencies, international organizations, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), key U.S. government agencies, and a sample list of major international and U.S.-based aid organizations that are providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Internet addresses of the U.N. agencies as well as links to their websites on Iraq (if available) are provided. The Iraq pages focus on reconstruction and aid programs. This site provides weekly updates of humanitarian and reconstruction in Iraq.
Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003 and a permanent (four-year) Iraqi government is now running the day-to-day operations of the country. However, coalition forces continue to combat insurgents and are attempting to improve the security situation in Iraq. According to the Department of Defense, since early 2007 overall violence is down as much as 80%, as a result of the Administration's "troop surge" strategy.
Elections were held in Iraq for a transitional National Assembly on January 30, 2005, and a permanent constitution was adopted on October 15, 2005. On December 15, 2005, elections were held for a permanent (four-year) national assembly, and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki was named and won approval of a 37-member cabinet on May 20, 2006. According to U.S. officials, the Iraqi government needs to increasingly focus on provision of public services, which is a growing source of public complaint, and on achieving political reconciliation among the relevant parties involved.
This report provides an annotated list of U.N. agencies, key U.S. government agencies, and a sample list of major international and U.S.-based aid organizations that are providing humanitarian assistance to Iraq. Internet links to the U.N. agencies and humanitarian aid organizations are also provided. For detailed discussion on humanitarian and reconstruction assistance in Iraq, see CRS Report RL31833, Iraq: Reconstruction Assistance, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RL31339, Iraq: Post-Saddam Governance and Security, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RS21968, Iraq: Politics, Elections, and Benchmarks, by [author name scrubbed]; CRS Report RL33936, Iraqi Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons: A Deepening Humanitarian Crisis?, coordinated by [author name scrubbed]; and CRS Report RL32105, Iraq: Foreign Contributions to Stabilization and Reconstruction, by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].
This report will be updated as events warrant.