European Commission has issued a restricted call for grant proposals from eligible organizations under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) to strengthen the role of civil society in promoting human rights and democratic reform in Russia. A limited number of activities may take place in other countries also. Priority will be given to local applicants or to actions in partnerships and networks. Efforts should be made by the applicants to reach out to marginalized communities and grassroots organizations.
Specific Objectives
The two specific objectives of this Call for Proposals are:
Specific objective 1: Consolidation of civil society efforts in Russia to strengthen democratic reform and improve state policy in the human rights area
- Concerted civil society campaigns to push for and contribute to reforms of the security sector, the judiciary, the penitentiary, as well as electoral, anti-corruption and anti-discrimination legislation;
- Civil society monitoring and reporting from civil society organizations on the state of implementation of Russia’s international commitments on human rights (such as, for instance, the Universal Periodic Review at UN level);
- Initiatives aimed at improving state policy with regard to human rights issues in the North Caucasus (prevention of torture, impunity of law enforcement agencies, violence against women and children, protection of human rights defenders etc.);
- Reconciliation activities in the North Caucasus.
Specific objective 2: Enhancing the inclusiveness and pluralism of civil society to ensure better protection of human rights, the rule of law and democratic governance at the local level
- Mobilization and empowerment of vulnerable or disadvantaged groups of the population such as migrants, ethnic minorities, indigenous peoples, LGBT, conscripts, some disadvantaged professional groups, women workers, inhabitants of closed cities or mono cities, rural groups etc., to exercise their rights;
- Establishing of new mechanisms for exchange of opinions and democratic dialogue on issues of importance to local communities or particular community groups;
- Tolerance-building, enhancing social solidarity and civic engagement within local communities;
- Capacity-building to new or fragile civil society actors (including new NGOs, community-based organisations, etc.) working to protect human rights, including economic, social and cultural rights, horizontal networking between different civil society actors;
- Enhancing the role of media in ensuring human rights and democracy.
Size of grants
Any grant requested under this Call for Proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
– minimum amount: EUR 50,000
– maximum amount: EUR 250,000
Note. This is a restricted Call for Proposals. In the first instance, only Concept Notes must be submitted for evaluation. Thereafter, applicants whose Concept Notes have been pre-selected will be invited to submit a Full Application Form.
Last date for submission of concept notes is November 18, 2011
For more information, visit this link.
