Grant-making Programme to support Afghan Human Rights Organisations
Deadline: Ongoing
ProtectDefenders.eu has announced an eighteen month grant-making programme to support Afghan human rights organisations with institutional support.
The objective of this programme is to ensure that groups and networks are empowered, resilient and enabled to continue their work. The project aims to significantly contribute to the sustainability of local human rights movements and organisations.
The Programme support the work of your organisation, human rights group, or community defending rights through small grants to develop innovative projects, strengthen your capacities, or to ensure your financial survival.
This programme is especially addressed to groups or NGOs that have limited capacity to approach donors, including those particularly targeted because of the issues they work on, those recently established or not having the possibility to register in their countries of operation, those in need of a timely and flexible response, and those working in remote and isolated areas.
Scope
The scope of activities that are funded by institutional support grants include:
Consolidating operational capacities, allowing the beneficiaries to develop new initiatives and/or sustain their work,
Leveraging emerging local initiatives, especially ones in isolated areas, whose timeliness with respect to on-the-ground developments is crucial to influence the human rights or HRDs’ situation at the local level,
Providing a lifeline to local organisations that are threatened by unexpected and/or grave security, financial, legal or administrative situations through core/bridging fund.
Thematic Areas
Call for proposals are either open or will be regularly issued by the partners to cover the following thematic areas:
Consolidating operational capacities of local human rights organisations. ProtectDefenders.eu prioritises funds for operational activities rarely covered by other donors yet important to the medium to long term prospects for Human Rights Defenders, such as:
Supporting emerging local initiatives, especially the ones in isolated areas or strengthening human rights defenders protection structures, such as networks or focal points;
Providing a lifeline to local organisations that are ‘endangered’ by unexpected and/or grave security, financial, legal or administrative situations
Expanding capacities to implement local innovative activities and projects to prevent and respond to infringements faced by human rights defenders and their organisations, and to advance a human rights agenda. ProtectDefenders.eu supports strategies related to advocacy or public campaigns, capacity building and trainings, documentation and printing of materials, joint development and implementation of protection plans by human rights organisations and networks.
Building capacities of local organisations, by allowing them to obtain and/or conduct specific trainings in areas that would assist in protecting them, such as physical and digital security, legal defense, litigation, etc.;
Campaigning and advocating for the protection of defenders and to advance a human rights agenda, such as through “academic” visits of special rapporteurs, national, regional and international campaigns or advocacy missions to counter funding restrictions, defamation and the criminalisation of human rights defenders in countries in situations of early warning, and to support initiatives for legal and policy change
Funding Information
Grants upto a maximum of EUR 60,000
It is possible to apply for several grants or for various activities in one grant as long as the total amount that one beneficiary receives does not exceed EUR 60,000.
Eligibility Criteria
The beneficiaries can include unregistered organisations, networks and organisations based in and outside of Afghanistan, that have limited capacity to approach donors, and to those organisations with limited financial capacity, who are continuing to deliver emergency support to Afghan HRDs. The ProtectDefenders.eu Secretariat will give priority to most at-risk HRD groups including women human rights defenders (WHRDs), LGBTI+ defenders, minority rights defenders, disability rights defenders, environmental and indigenous peoples’ rights defenders, freedom of expression’s rights defenders and less connected HRDs.
ProtectDefenders.eu Secretariat will take certain criteria into consideration whilst evaluating each grant application:
Identity: a civil society organisation or groups, in particular those that represent or support Afghan HRDs at risk. Those can include – registered or unregistered organisations – networks or unregistered organisations – newly established groups within/ and or outside the country or those working in hybrid models.
Situation: The group/ network is at risk because of their human rights work and/or are providing direct support to Afghan civil society actors and HRDs at risk
Needs: The applicant needs support to continue doing human rights work. Priority will be given to groups or NGOs that have limited capacity to approach donors and to those organisations with limited financial capacity who are continuing to deliver emergency support to Afghan HRDs. Lack of access to alternative sources of support will be taken into account but is not a sole determining factor.
The Institutional Support grant-making approach aims at being adaptive to local needs and to a diversity of methods and tactics developed by Afghan HRDs, women rights and media organisations as well as responsive to unanticipated situations as they arise.
For more information, visit https://protectdefenders.eu/supporting-organisations/#1603817333102-bc088e5f-0fb4