EU Call for Proposals: ‘Civil Society Organizations’ and ‘European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights’ in Peru

Deadline: 23 April 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations to provide funding under two programme lots:

Civil Society Organizations (Lot 1)
European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (Lot 2) Peru

The overall objective of this call for proposals is to strengthen the capacities of civil society as an actor of development and good governance.

LOT 1: Strengthening of Civil Society towards Sustainable Alternative Development in VRAEM
- Overall objective of lot 1
  - Strengthen the implementation of the VRAEM 2021 Strategy, promoting the participation of civil society organizations (CSO) – of the valley, in it.
- The specific objectives of Lot 1
  - Contribute to the strengthening of civil society organizations (CSOs) and other local organizations – as channels that ensure the participation of VRAEM citizens in the economic and institutional development projects promoted by the Peruvian State
  - Promote the exercise of citizen oversight from CSOs for the adequate monitoring of public policies and practices in the VRAEM localities.
- The priorities of Lot No. 1:
  - Promotion of the participation of CSOs, grassroots social organizations and native communities in the design and implementation of development programs and projects implemented by the State;
  - Development and implementation of citizen surveillance strategies for the performance of Local Governments;
  - Design and implementation of territorial surveillance mechanisms in the face of deforestation and other environmental threats;
  - Generation of channels of access to markets of VRAEM products and services;
  - Promotion of environmentally sustainable local socio-economic development initiatives that generate economic income and new livelihoods
  - Strengthening the associativity of producers, as well as other social and economic organizations.
  - Strengthening the capacities of women’s organizations and native communities.
LOT 2: Strengthening the Capabilities of Defenders, Human Rights Defenders and their Organizations
- Overall objective of Lot No. 2
  - Support for the defense of human rights and human rights defenders in situations of greater risk.
- Specific objectives of Lot No. 2:
  - Strengthen the capacities of human rights defenders and their organizations and advocate to define public policies aimed at guaranteeing their rights.
  - Strengthening of capacities and provision of technical, financial, psychological assistance, legal advice and defense, among others, to persons deprived of liberty and to the institutions concerned.
- The priorities of this batch:
  - The proposed actions must contemplate activities focused on covering the following priorities.
  - Each action must cover at least two of the priorities mentioned below:
    - To advocate to design and implement public policies in order to obtain measures that strengthen and allow the implementation of protection mechanisms for human rights defenders.
    - Provide technical, financial, psychological assistance, counseling, legal defense and training, among others, to persons deprived of liberty and the institutions concerned.
    - Strengthening of civil society organizations and human rights defenders working in particular in the defense of land and territory, the promotion and defense of persons deprived of liberty and of indigenous communities.
    - Provision of legal, financial, material and technical assistance and other concrete support so that defenders and journalists can carry out their work;
    - Sensitization of public opinion about the exercise of their rights and especially the work and role of defenders in the promotion and defense of democracy and human rights.

Funding Information

Lot 1: Strengthening civil society towards sustainable alternative development in the VRAEM.
- minimum amount: EUR 500,000
- maximum amount: EUR 1,050,000
Lot 2: Strengthening the capacities of human rights defenders and their organizations.
- minimum amount: EUR 100,000
- maximum amount: EUR 215,000

Eligibility Criteria

Principal applicant
- To qualify for a grant, the principal applicant must:
  - be a legal entity
  - not have a profit motive
  - be a Civil Society Organization (or a network, platform or other type of CSO coalition) constituted according to the legislation in force in Peru or in one of the Member States of the European Union or in another eligible country according to the relevant clauses of the regulation Nº235 / 20142 of March 11, 2014, which establishes a European Instrument for the promotion of Democracy and Human Rights and of regulation nº 233/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council, of March 11, 2014 , which establishes a Financing Instrument for Development Cooperation (DCI) for the period 2014-2020.
  - For lot 1: For British applicants: keep in mind that the eligibility criteria must be met during the entire duration of the grant. Unless the specific eligibility rules for each sector stipulate otherwise, if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the period of the subsidy without having reached an agreement with the Union which guarantees, in particular, that British applicants are still eligible, will stop receiving EU funding (as long as it continues, if it is possible to participate), or will be asked to leave the project under Article 12.2 of the grant agreement
  - be directly responsible, with its co-applicants and affiliated entities, for the preparation and management of the action, and not simply act as intermediary
- Public bodies such as Ministries, Provincial or Municipal Governments are not eligible as applicants or co-applicants in the two lots.
Co-applicants
- The co-applicants will participate in the design and execution of the action, and the costs incurred will be eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
- The co-applicants must meet the eligibility criteria applicable to the main applicant according to each lot.
- Each proposal must have a principal applicant and one or more co-applicants.
- For both lots, in case the applicant is not an organization constituted according to the legislation in force in Peru, the proposal must have at least one Peruvian co-applicant (CSO or a CSO network established in Peru).
- If the grant contract is awarded, the co-applicants (if applicable) will become beneficiaries of the action (together with the coordinator).
Affiliated entities
- The principal applicant and his / her co-applicant (s) may act with affiliated entities.
- Only the following entities may be considered entities affiliated with the main applicant or the co-applicant (s):
  - Only entities that have a structural link with the applicants (ie, the lead applicant or a co-applicant), especially if the link is legal or capital.
  - This structural link mainly covers two aspects:
    - Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34 / EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and other related reports of certain types of companies:
      - Thus, the entities affiliated with an applicant can be:
        
        Entities controlled directly or indirectly by the applicant (subsidiary companies or first level subsidiaries). They can also be entities controlled by an entity controlled in turn by the applicant (second level subsidiaries), and the same applies to the following levels of control.
        
        Entities that directly or indirectly control the applicants (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities that control an entity that in turn controls the applicant.
        
        Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (associated companies).
    - Accession, that is, the applicant is legally defined as, for example, network, federation or association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate, or participates in the same entity (for example, network, federation or association) that the affiliated entities proposed.