Call for Proposals: European Instrument for Democracy & Human Rights

Deadline: 07-May-21

The European Commission is seeking eligible applicants for its European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) programme to provide direct support to civil society organizations in order to consolidate and strengthen their role and their own strategies in the promotion of human rights and the democratic process.

The EIDHR offers independence of action aimed at directly supporting civil society organizations (CSOs) in the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law in third countries, as well as in the monitoring of the implementation of all democratic reforms, human rights and fundamental freedoms.

Objectives

Support, develop and consolidate democracy in third countries, by strengthening participatory and representative democracy, by consolidating the democratic cycle as a whole, in particular by strengthening the active role played by civil society within this cycle, as well as the rule of law, and by improving the reliability of electoral processes, in particular by means of Union election observation missions;
Strengthen respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as proclaimed in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in other international and regional human rights instruments Human Rights, and to strengthen their protection, promotion, implementation and monitoring, primarily through support to concerned civil society organizations, human rights defenders and victims of repression or abuses.

Priorities

Priority 1 – Promotion and defense of human rights
- Actions to combat the worst forms of child labor.
- Actions to promote and defend the rights of migrants, refugees / asylum seekers and forced displaced persons.
- Actions to promote and defend the rights of people, groups or communities traditionally discriminated against, vulnerable or victims of violence because of their ethnic or social affiliation, disability, physical / genetic characteristics, sexual orientation or gender identity.
Priority 2 – Strengthening democracy
- Actions to support civil society, including independent media and investigative journalism, in order to monitor the actions of the authorities in matters of governance and compliance with human rights obligations.
- Actions in favor of the protection of freedom of expression, media freedom and pluralism, both online and offline, as well as the fight against disinformation, hate speech, extremist content and terrorist.
- Actions to combat violence, harassment and intimidation to which individuals, journalists and other media actors are victims in the exercise of their freedom of expression, and against the impunity of the perpetrators of these acts.

Funding Information

The overall indicative amount made available under this call for proposals is EUR 3,000,000.
Indicative envelope per lot:
- Lot 1 Priority 1 “Promotion and defense of human rights”: 2,000,000 EUR.
- Lot 2 Priority 2 “Strengthening democracy”: EUR 1,000,000.
Grant amount:
- Any grant requested under this call for proposals must be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
  - minimum amount: 500,000 EUR
  - maximum amount: 1,000,000 EUR
- Any grant requested under this call for proposals must be between the following minimum and maximum percentages of the total eligible costs of the action:
  - minimum percentage: 50% of the total eligible costs of the action
  - maximum percentage: 95% of the total eligible costs of the action

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant:
- be a legal person or an entity without legal personality or a natural person
- have no profit motive
- be a non-governmental civil society organization (CSO)
- be established in Mali or act with at least one established co-applicant or Mali
- be directly responsible for preparing and managing the action with the co-applicant (s) and the affiliated entity (s), and not acting as an intermediary
- be experienced and able to demonstrate the ability to manage activities relating to the themes concerned and corresponding to the scope of the project requiring a grant
- be able to demonstrate its capacity to be effectively operational in Mali and to implement activities there
Co-applicant (s):
- A partnership with at least one co-applicant established in Mali is mandatory when the lead applicant is not established in Mali.
- Co-applicants participate in the development and implementation of the action, and the costs they bear are eligible in the same way as those borne by the lead applicant.
- Co-applicants must meet the same eligibility criteria as those which apply to the lead applicant himself.
- Co-applicants must sign the mandate.
- If the grant is awarded to them, any co-applicants become beneficiaries within the framework of the action (with the coordinator).
Affiliated Entities:
- The lead applicant and his co-applicant (s) may act with one or more affiliated entities.
- Only the following entities can be considered as affiliated with the lead applicant and / or co-applicant (s):
- Only entities which have a structural link with the applicants (the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
- This structural link mainly encompasses two concepts:
- Control, within the meaning of Directive 2013/34 / EU on annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain forms of business:
- Entities affiliated with an applicant can therefore be:
  - entities controlled directly or indirectly by the applicant (first-rank subsidiaries or subsidiaries) or controlled by an entity itself controlled by the applicant (sub-subsidiaries or second-level subsidiaries), and this is valid for the other levels of control;
  - entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
  - entities controlled, directly or indirectly, at the same level as the applicant (sister companies).
- Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as, for example, a network, federation or association of which the proposed affiliate is a member, or the applicant is a member of the same entity (for example, a network, a federation or an association,…) than the proposed affiliated entity.