EU announces Call for Proposals to Support Civil Society Initiatives to Promote Democracy and Human Rights in Equatorial Guinea

Deadline: 25 September 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organizations for a program entitled “Support civil society initiatives to promote democracy and human rights in Equatorial Guinea”.

The overall objective of this call for proposals is to support civil society in its actions aimed at promoting the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Equatorial Guinea. As indicated in the EU strategies for human rights in Equatorial Guinea, the EU underlines the importance of having a strong and representative civil society that can play an effective role in political reform and the defense of human rights.

Priorities

The priorities of this call for proposals have been selected in accordance with the priorities of the EU’s human rights strategies.

Strengthen the capacity, security and ownership of local actors of civil society working in defense of human rights, good governance and/or democracy.
Promotion of social and economic rights that are listed in the National Economic Development Plan (specifically education, social protection and public health, including reproductive health).
Protect and promote the rights of the most vulnerable people (women, children, the elderly, the disabled, minorities, indigenous peoples and LGBTI people).
Promote equality, inclusion and fight against any form of discrimination, whether sex, race, ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation and any other personal or social condition or circumstance.

Size of Grants

The grants requested under this Call for Proposals will be comprised between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

Minimum amount: EUR100,000.00
Maximum amount: EUR 250,000.00

Duration

The initial planned duration of an action cannot be less than 18 months or more than 24 months.

Location

The actions will be executed in Equatorial Guinea.

Eligibility Criteria

Principal applicant: In order to qualify for a grant, the principal applicant must:
- be a legal entity
- not have a profit motive
- be a specific type of organization, such as: civil society organizations, including non-profit non-governmental organizations and independent political foundations, community organizations, indigenous peoples’ organizations, organizations of persons with disabilities and agencies, institutions and non-profit organizations of the private sector and their networks at the local, national, regional and international levels, national human rights institutions, ombudsmen; colleges
- No restriction of nationality is applied to the main applicants or, as the case may be, to the co-applicants and affiliated entities.
- be directly responsible, with its co-applicants and affiliated entities, for the preparation and management of the action and not simply act as intermediary.
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 main applicant.
- The co-applicants must meet the eligibility criteria applicable to the main applicant.
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 main 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.