Deadline: 19-Nov-23
Under the framework of the European Union/Council of Europe joint programme “Horizontal Facility for the Western Balkans and Türkiye”, and its action “Towards an equal, inclusive and tolerant Bosnia and Herzegovina”, the Council of Europe is launching a call for proposals with the aim to fund concrete responses on combating discrimination, including discrimination on grounds of sexual orientation and/or gender identity and combating hate speech.
General Objective
- The grants will fund activities aimed at supporting the concrete implementation and/or follow-up at local level of the recommendations of the Council of Europe monitoring body in the field of anti-discrimination, namely the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance (ECRI), other applicable standards such as the Committee of Ministers recommendation on SOGI grounds and on combating hate speech as well as national action plans and roadmaps such as the LGBTI Action plan for Bosnia and Herzegovina and Mapping responses to hate speech in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
- Projects designed could address the following issues:
- Promotion and protection of rights of LGBTI persons in the local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina related to access to health and education, in the area of sports, media and administration, protection against hate speech and hate crime, etc.
- Combating hate speech and/or countering intolerance, exclusion, inequality, hatred and racism in local communities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, whereby focusing on vulnerable groups such as irregularly present migrants, Roma, people with disabilities, LGBTI people, Jews, people of different ethnicity/religions, etc.
Priorities
- Further to the general objective, preference will be given to:
- Projects proposed by a local self-government in cooperation with CSOs or proposed by a CSO in cooperation with local self-government or/and other relevant stakeholders/institutions;
- Projects and their activities implemented in partnership between local self-governments/CSOs from different entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
- Projects that aim to fight multiple forms of discrimination or to support multiple vulnerable groups;
- Projects/actions that involve vulnerable groups themselves;
- Projects that make links between strategies in fighting discrimination and hate speech that exists at the local level towards above mentioned groups or that support the preparation of such strategies;
- Projects that incorporate gender mainstreaming elements;
- Projects that include a list of visibility activities that should be implemented through the grant, aiming to: promote tolerance, intercultural dialogue and cultural pluralism among general public – public has access to fact-based/well-researched information about sexual minorities (and their rights) and/or on hate speech. Based on this it can make a positive connotation with issues linked to the vulnerable groups in society; stimulate media interest and to increase the number of media reports aimed at increasing awareness related to the promotion of tolerance, combating hate speech; provide visibility of the contribution of the Horizontal Facility Programme.
Funding Information
- The indicative available budget under this call for proposals is 60.000 Euros (sixty thousand Euros).
- The Council of Europe intends to award 6 (six) grants of a maximum amount of 10.000 Euros (ten thousand Euros) each.
Implementation period
- The implementation period of the projects should start on 15 February 2024 and shall not extend beyond 15 February 2025.
- Reporting requirements shall be completed on 15 March 2025 at the latest.
Activities
- Sample of activities could include the following:
- LGBTI: fighting human rights violation of LGBTI people; activities towards changes of policies; involvement of authorities, local self-governments, CSOs and other relevant stakeholders in promoting equality and diversity and combating discrimination and violence, etc.
- Countering hate speech and promoting diversity, equality, inclusion and tolerance: combating hate speech; activities towards changes of policies; rising awareness about hate speech and its negative effects; activities towards facilitating prosecution of hate speech; raising awareness through authorities and CSOs about entitlements and access to services for all persons, regardless of their status; involvement of the authorities, schools, religious and sports communities in combating hate speech and promoting diverse and inclusive society; supporting initiatives and actions that promote and encourage fighting discrimination on ground of ethnic or national origin; and enhancing intercultural dialogue, mutual respect, understanding and cooperation among all persons living in the local community, including different vulnerable groups, etc.
Target Stakeholders
- Projects should target in particular the following key stakeholders:
- Local self-governments
- Civil society organisations
- Vulnerable groups such as irregularly present migrants, Roma, people with disabilities, LGBTI people, Jews, people of different ethnic/religions, etc.
- Youth
- General population
Eligibility Criteria
- In order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
- be legally constituted as a non-governmental organisation in Bosnia and Herzegovina or is a local self-government;
- be entitled to carry out in Bosnia and Herzegovina activities described in its project proposal;
- for CSOs: have been active for at least three years in the field of human rights/anti-discrimination, hate speech;
- have sufficient financial capacity on the bank account: at least 2000 Euro or the equivalent in the local currency;
- have sufficient operational and professional capacity, including at least two staff, to carry out activities described in its project proposal and who have at least three years’ experience in project implementation;
- have a bank account.
Ineligibility Criteria
- Applicants shall be excluded from the grant award procedure where they or, in the case of legal persons, their owner(s) or executive officer(s):
- have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, child labour or trafficking in human beings;
- are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;
- have received a judgement with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or constitutes a serious professional misconduct;
- do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of the country where they are established; e)
- are an entity created to circumvent tax, social or other legal obligations (empty shell company), have ever created or are in the process of creation of such an entity;
- have been involved in mismanagement of the Council of Europe funds or public funds;
- are included in the lists of persons or entities subject to restrictive measures applied by the European Union.
For more information, visit Council of Europe.