While certain aspects of the current crisis in Iraq certainly are unique, many elements and their likely evolution still bear comparison with previous crises and the international responses to them. Key international actors should consider how to ensure that the lessons from previous operations are built into the planning and co-ordination mechanisms for aid to Iraq and how to institute the necessary actions and safeguards. Such arrangements need to take into account relevant lessons both at the international level as well as at the regional and national levels.
The following lessons are based on a review of recent evaluation reports - the most important of which are listed in the annex. They were compiled with the support of an expert group and of the Active Learning Network for Accountability and Performance in Humanitarian Action (ALNAP). They take as point of departure an earlier effort in late 20013 to bring to bear some of the lessons of experience on the design of a relief and reconstruction programme in Afghanistan.