EC Call for Proposals for Actions supporting Human Rights and Democracy Issues

The European Commission (EC) under its European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) has issued a Call for Proposals for the “Actions Supporting Human Rights and Democracy Issues covered by the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict and for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child.” As indicated, it is divided into two lots, namely, ‘Children and Armed Conflict’ and ‘Promotion and Protection of the Rights of the Child’ and applicants need to define any one lot out of the two, though actions can be related to both the lots.

Under the theme of Lot 1, NGOs in countries that have been affected by conflict either locally or nationally can apply for the grants under this Call for Proposals. Some of these countries have been mentioned in the list of the EU Guidelines on Children and Armed Conflict, namely, Afghanistan, Burma, Burundi, Chad, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Democratic republic of Congo, Haiti, Iraq, Israel/Occupied Palestinian Territories, Lebanon, Liberia, Nepal, Philippines, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda. Also NGOs in countries which are undergoing a post-conflict situation and where rehabilitation support has been identified as a need can also apply.

Under the theme of Lot 2, there is no geographical restriction and NGOs can apply from any country but a priority list of countries has been drawn out and this includes Armenia, Barbados, Brazil, Ghana, India, Iran, Jordan, Kenya, Morocco, and Russia.

The proposed project should address the above-mentioned issues and work towards the following priorities under the two lots such as “reduced number of children in armed forces and groups; increased number of children who have been successfully reintegrated in the society after disenrollment; more effective coverage of crimes related to children’s rights, such as child recruitment; increased societal awareness, including among children themselves and increased efficiency of implementation at national level of relevant international human rights norms and standards related to the rights of the child; and in particular violence against children;reduced number of children being subject to violence in care and justice institutions;monitoring and accountability systems strengthened and better developed.”

Initially, the EC will accept only Concept Notes, following which selected applicants will be contacted to submit full proposals. However, it is obligatory for all applicants and their partners, if any, to get themselves registered at the PADOR (Potential Applicant Data On-Line Registration), which is an online database used by the EC for checking eligibility and other data of the applicant organization. The deadline for submitting the Concept Note is 13 March 2009. The guidelines for grant applications under this Call for Proposals can be downloaded from this link. The application form is available at this link and the budget format can be accessed at this link. There is also the logical framework format that can be downloaded at this link. The PADOR Degoration Pack for applicants is at this link and for partners, it is available at this link.