CFPs: Global Initiative Against Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations

 Deadline Date: August 17, 2024

 Donor Name: Civil Rights Defenders

 Grant Size: $10,000 to $100,000

The Civil Rights Defenders, on behalf of the “Global Initiative Against Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work” Programme, is launching a call for proposals aiming to support local actors globally.

The “Global Initiative Against Impunity for International Crimes and Serious Human Rights Violations: Making Justice Work” is a programme co-founded and initiated by the European Union, whose goal is to promote inclusive, integrated, comprehensive justice and accountability for serious human rights violations worldwide. This action is implemented by a Consortium of nine organisations and two associate partners: The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) as the lead agency, Civil Rights Defenders, The European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), Impunity Watch (IW), Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Redress, TRIAL International, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice (WIGJ), Coalition for the International Criminal Court (CICC), The Auschwitz Institute for the Prevention of Genocide and Mass Atrocities (AIPG), associate partner, and The International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), associate partner.

Objectives

• This call supports projects addressing gaps and less documented issues, ensuring a holistic approach to transitional justice. Project proposals are expected to be contributing to integrated actions for comprehensive justice and accountability for serious human rights violations.
• The project proposals must align with one or more of the following specific objectives:
  • Increased agency and participation of right-holders (victims, survivors, civil society organisations) in formal and informal justice processes.
  • Enhanced effectiveness of the accountability frameworks and systems to fight impunity and ensure victim-centred, trauma-informed and gender-transformative justice.

Funding Information

• The minimum amount awarded per grant will be EUR 30,000 and the maximum amount will be EUR 60,000. On an exceptional basis, grants up to EUR 80,000 will be awarded when a project requires a higher level of financial support in order to achieve the objectives (such as when requiring the participation of regional or international organisations to strategic workshops or for organisational strengthening at the regional level).
• A CSO can apply several times, but the total amount awarded over the course of the four-year action cannot exceed EUR 60,000, and on the exceptional basis EUR 80,000. The amount of financial support will be assessed for each case, based on specific criteria tailored to the needs of the applicant and the nature of their activities.

Duration 

• The implementation period is minimum 6 months and maximum 18 months with possibility for minor changes not involving additional funding (like partial reallocation of existing funds or nocost extension).

Expected Results

• The project proposals must contribute to at least one or more of the following expected results:
  • Strengthened capacities of CSOs, victims and survivors (right-holders) to claim and fulfil their rights to justice, truth, and reparation in serious Human Rights Violations (HRV) and to enforce States’ obligations (duty-bearers) to prevent, investigate, punish and redress serious HRV.
  • Increased availability of legal and non-legal (trauma/psychological, security, financial, translation) gender responsive, victim-centred and trauma-informed support to victims and survivors across all stages of holistic justice and accountability processes. 
  • Increased capacities of CSOs to lead justice and accountability networks and knowledge-sharing mechanisms.
  • Increased availability of documented cases of serious HRV and analytical research on justice and accountability. 
  • Enhanced knowledge management system for CSO oversight, advocacy, and increased agency on the issues of accountability in serious HRV cases (the Global Initiative Against Impunity online resource platform). 
  • Increased opportunities for national dialogue between justice providers and policy makers (duty-bearers) and victims, survivors, CSOs (right-holders) on reforming the legal systems and specific laws and enhancing accountability for serious HRV. 
  • Increased opportunities for international dialogue between the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international accountability mechanisms (duty-bearers) and victims, survivors, CSOs (right-holders) on accountability. 
  • Increased knowledge and awareness of national decision-makers (duty-bearers) on addressing impunity, accountability and promoting victim-centred, trauma-informed and gender transformative justice in the framework of the Rome Statute and other international criminal justice mechanisms. 
  • Increased opportunities for regional and international dialogue between relevant decision makers and CSOs and victims on enhancing implementation of existing legislation on international criminal justice.

Activities 

• The applicants are encouraged to develop proposals that include one or more of the following activities:
  • Capacity building activities, such as skills training and exchange of experiences and lessons learned workshops on issues related to the fight against impunity such as on methodology to monitor and to document the gravest violations of human rights, including Sexual and Gender Based Violence (SGBV); using open-source investigations tools; data security, long-term preservation, records and archives management, risk/security/conflict analyses. 
  • Seminars, workshops, events and meetings to facilitate dialogue with justice providers and decision-makers. 
  • Strategic workshops with multiple CSOs from one country or several countries to develop strategies to fight against impunity.
  • Documentation (fact-finding/criminal investigations missions), reports, studies to gather evidence. 
  • Legal work in relation to case-building/case preparation and case work. 
  • Policy briefs, surveys, research, studies analysing justice-related issues. 
  • Participation in major events on the fight against impunity such as the ASP and/or activities or initiatives of the consortium. 
  • Awareness raising and advocacy campaigns.

Eligibility Criteria

• In order to be eligible, the applicant must:
  • Be a registered CSO, including those operating in exile. Non-registered CSOs will be eligible for consideration within this call for proposals. CSOs established for non-profit purposes with a mandate or a strategic priority in the fight against impunity. 
  • Be a CSO established for non-profit purposes actively participating in shaping judicial processes, engaging with decisions-makers on the fight against impunity and/or working on holistic justice and accountability processes. 
  • Have sufficient capacity and readiness to manage the financial support requested and to provide reports on its use and impact.

Ineligible

• Applicants will be excluded from participating in the selection process if:
  • The organisation does not comply with prevention of sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment (SEAH). 
  • The organisation’s legal representative is proven to be guilty of grave professional misconduct.
  • The organisation representatives are subject to a conflict of interests or are not compliant with the Civil Rights Defenders and Impunity Watch Anti-Corruption and Complaints policy. 
  • The organisation is on the EU Sanctions list.
  • The organisation resorts to or has resorted to violence or incitement to violence.

For more information, visit Civil Rights Defenders.