Deadline: 18-Jan-22
The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) has announced a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) outlining project concepts and capacity to manage programs in Iraq that will:
- strengthen effective governance;
- increase political participation and civic activism;
- promote fundamental freedoms; and
- support atrocity prevention, accountability, and reconciliation.
Categories
- Programming should promote inclusive, transparent, and responsive governance and should focus on one or more of the following areas:
- Promoting Effective Governance:
- Empower and encourage officials at the national and local levels to engage on and be responsive to human rights concerns, including the rights of members of marginalized communities such as religious and ethnic minority groups.
- Increase the capacity and awareness of community leaders to represent their communities/constituents to the GOI and KRG adequately, inclusively, and effectively in governance mechanisms, particularly those that address security and recovery relevant to local populations.
- Enhance the responsiveness of the Government of Iraq (GOI) and/or Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to demands for progress on anti-corruption efforts.
- Support good governance and anti-corruption efforts that specifically address discriminatory practices that prevent women’s full and equitable participation in all aspects of Iraqi life.
- Address the spread of disinformation, particularly where disinformation targets civic and political activists, and human rights defenders, or where it undermines trust and participation in good governance processes.
- Address the effects of climate change and environmental degradation in Iraq through inclusive, community-driven, climate-positive solutions that promote civic activism and participation in governance processes.
- Increasing Political Participation:
- Strengthen Iraqi citizens’ ability to engage their representatives at the local and national level on social, political, and economic issues, with a particular focus on increasing civil society engagement with the GOI.
- Promote full participation in Iraq’s civic processes, particularly addressing barriers to access resulting from vulnerabilities (i.e., women, internally displaced persons, those lacking civil documentation, members of religious and ethnic minority groups, those with low literacy or persons with disabilities or mobility issues, etc.).
- Encourage the development of new and moderate political candidates, parties, and elected officials, particularly by addressing their ability to organize, respond to their constituents, and conduct civic outreach.
- Engage workers and worker organizations in strengthening freedom of association initiatives and democratic best practices, particularly as they relate to national legislation and governance.
- Increase the confidence of the Iraqi public in electoral institutions and the democratic process through civic education and outreach.
- Supporting Civic Activism:
- Build the capacity of Iraqi activists to engage in democratic activism by providing basic skills and training in democratic activism, including advocacy, community organizing, coalition-building, non-violence, conflict resolution, and accountability capabilities; providing ongoing mentoring, coaching, and networking opportunities to participating activists and organizations; developing sustainable tools and approaches to achieve impact on policy outcomes and political freedoms.
- Create and deepen linkages between emerging democratic activists and accountability and oversight-focused civil society groups towards the goal of building a national network of likeminded individuals and groups.
- Respond to public demands to address corrupt practices and grievances around poor governance related to pollution and environmental issues.
- Improve and enforce national social safety net programs and engagement between the private and public sector in line with Iraqi law.
- Promoting Effective Governance:
- Programming should protect and advance fundamental freedoms, including freedom of the press, expression, association, peaceful assembly, and religion or belief, and should focus on one or more of the following areas:
- Freedom of Expression:
- Build the independence and resiliency of Iraqi media and address problematic legislation, including interpretation and implementation of existing legislation that restricts the fundamental freedoms of expression and religion or belief, and promote freedom of expression without fear of retaliation.
- Expand and protect Internet freedom in Iraq.
- Promote the digital safety and media literacy of civil society organizations, human rights defenders, and journalists.
- Support independent media to report on important human rights issues accurately, ethically, and inclusively, such as the rights of persons with disabilities and members of religious and ethnic minority groups and the impacts of climate change.
- Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly:
- Provide broad-based support to civil society groups and activists in Iraq’s southern provinces.
- Address problematic legislation restricting fundamental freedoms through advocacy and reform efforts, and support implementation of existing laws that promote equitable status and rights.
- Support government efforts to ensure equitable access to decent and safe work through skills training to formal and informal sector workers.
- Address labor concerns within Iraq and increase access to improved employment by promoting adherence to Iraqi labor laws and international labor conventions.
- Freedom of Expression:
- Programming should support inclusive efforts to protect human rights, reduce and prevent violence, and rebuild trust within and between communities and between citizens and the state, and should focus on one or more of the following areas:
- Atrocity Prevention:
- Support survivors of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), including access to protection (e.g., shelters, either government-run or otherwise) and access to services; activities designed to change societal attitudes and address harmful gender norms that normalize gender-based violence (GBV) or stigmatize and shun survivors, prevent individuals from safely accessing assistance and reporting crimes, and relegate issues of violence against women outside of established justice processes; and promote survivor protection and dignity by providing sensitivity training and technical expertise to advocacy groups.
- Establish a context-specific, flexible response mechanism to provide emergency support to survivors of GBV and technical support to organizations working to prevent and respond to GBV in Iraq.
- Address the systemic, legal, religious, and cultural barriers preventing the safe, dignified, and voluntary return and reintegration of former ISIS captives and their children, including Turkmen and Yezidis.
- Enable Iraqi civil society and advocacy groups, including those representing religious and ethnic minority groups, to engage constructively and collaboratively with security forces, particularly on inclusive security sector reform and/or oversight to ensure that all parties promote security in a manner that protects all civilians, minimizes the impact of conflict on communities, respects human rights, adheres to the rule of law, and facilitates accountability for atrocities committed against Iraqi communities.
- Accountability:
- Advance accountability for atrocities committed in Iraq through available legal avenues for justice, including those in third countries, and by providing legal, psychosocial, and other types of assistance to victims of abuses.
- Monitor, track, and document the targeting of civil society organizations, activists, journalists, women human rights defenders, religious and ethnic minority groups, and other groups in vulnerable situations, as well as politically motivated attacks including media incitement of violence.
- Document and promote accountability for human rights abuses, with a focus on abuses committed by security forces.
- Monitor juvenile and adult detention facilities and judicial proceedings, including gender-sensitive documentation of treatment and anti-torture measures, as well as advocacy for access to information and legal representation.
- Support to national-level governmental bodies responsible for human rights monitoring, documentation, and reporting.
- Build the technical capacity of GOI and KRG stakeholders focused on the search and identification of missing and disappeared persons based on international best practices; support the collection, standardization, and preservation of information and potential evidence on the missing and disappeared for a range of accountability and other transitional justice processes; create and manage public education and awareness-raising campaigns that also build trust with local communities, especially families of the missing and disappeared; map and secure mass graves; and support the recovery of victims’ remains and accurate victim identification for justice, truth, and accountability efforts.
- Reconciliation
- Promote the reintegration and protection of women and children impacted by the conflict, including minors in juvenile detention centers; demobilized child soldiers; adult detainees; members of religious and ethnic minority groups; and/or those who are negatively impacted by perceived affiliation to ISIS in communities of return.
- Help restore the relationship between citizens and the state in areas where violence or mistrust has or continues to impact individual and community participation in democratic processes such as in disputed territories and other areas traditionally home to multiple religious and ethnic groups.
- Support targeted, community-based dispute resolution, conflict management, and non-violent coexistence programs.
- Atrocity Prevention:
Funding Information
- Budget requests may range from a floor of $750,000 to a ceiling of $3,000,000.
- The period of performance may range between 18 and 48 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Organizations submitting SOIs must meet the following criteria:
- Be a U.S.- or foreign-based non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO), or a public international organization; or
- Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education; or
- Be a for-profit organization or business (noting there are restrictions on payment of fees and/or profits under grants and cooperative agreements, “Cost Accounting Standards Administration”, “Contract Cost Principles and Procedures”);
- Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders including private sector partner and NGOs; and,
- Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.
- Applicants may form consortia and submit a combined SOI. However, one organization should be designated as the lead applicant with the other members as sub-award partners.
- DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited. Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336900