EU-Lebanon Call for Proposals: EIDHR Support for Local Civil Society Action through Country-Based Support Schemes

Deadline: 14 May 2019

The European Union (EU) is currently accepting proposals from eligible organisations for a program entitled “European Instrument for Democracy & Human Rights (EIDHR) Support for local civil society action through Country-Based Support Schemes LEBANON”.

Objectives

• The global objective of this call for proposals is to support civil society efforts in the protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms in Lebanon.
• The specific objective of this call for proposals is to support actions which seek to:
  • support and promote the enjoyment of all human rights by LGBTI persons and protect them against discrimination;
  • the promotion and protection of the fundamental freedoms of expression and freedom of the media.

Priority Issues

The priorities of this call for proposals are:

• the rights of LGBTI persons; and
• freedom of expression and freedom of the media.

Size of Grants

Any grant requested under this call for proposals must fall between the following minimum and maximum amounts:

• minimum amount: EUR 550,000
• maximum amount: EUR 550,000

Eligibility Criteria

• Lead applicant
  • In order to be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
    • be a legal person and
    • be non-profit-making and
    • be a specific type of organisation such as defined by the Regulation EU No 236/2014 of 11 March 2014 laying down common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union’s instruments for financing external action
      • civil society organisations, including non-governmental non-profit organisations and independent political foundations, community-based organisations and private-sector non-
      • profit agencies, institutions and organisations and networks thereof at local, national, regional and international level;
      • public-sector non-profit-agencies, institutions and organisations and networks at local, national, regional and international level;
      • international and regional inter-governmental organisations;
    • be an in-country organisation, with Headquarters in Lebanon and officially registered with the Lebanese competent authorities or established in a Member State of the European Union or in any eligible country or territory as defined under the Regulation (EU) N°236/2014 establishing common rules and procedures for the implementation of the Union’s instruments for external action (CIR) for the EIDHR instrument.
    • If the lead applicant does not have its headquarter in Lebanon or if it is an international organisation, then it should mandatorily act with at least one Lebanese co-applicant.
    • Non in-country organisations are eligible insofar their experience adds value, and upon conditions that their actions respond to a local demand and to locally identified needs, and include support to local partners (e.g. through mentoring, peer support, joint advocacy, and not least through direct financial support).
    • In case of DCI, ENI, NSCI, PI, IPA II and 11th EDF [‘For British applicants: Please be aware that eligibility criteria must be complied with for the entire duration of the grant. Unless sector-specific eligibility rules provide otherwise , if the United Kingdom withdraws from the EU during the grant period without concluding an agreement with the EU ensuring in particular that British applicants continue to be eligible, applicants will cease to receive EU funding (while continuing, where possible to participate) or will be required to leave the project on the basis of Article [insert reference to the Article allowing termination of the grant agreement (change of the legal situation of the beneficiary) of the grant agreement’.
    • be directly responsible for the preparation and management of the action with the co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), not acting as an intermediary.
  • Potential applicants may not participate in calls for proposals or be awarded grants if they are in any of the situations
• Co-applicant(s)
  • Co-applicants participate in designing and implementing the action, and the costs they incur are eligible in the same way as those incurred by the lead applicant.
  • Co-applicants must satisfy the eligibility criteria as applicable to the lead applicant himself.
• Affiliated entities
  • The lead applicant and its co-applicant(s) may act with affiliated entity(ies).
  • Only the following entities may be considered as affiliated entities to the lead applicant and/or to co-applicant(s):
    • Only entities having a structural link with the applicants (i.e. the lead applicant or a co-applicant), in particular a legal or capital link.
    • This structural link encompasses mainly two notions:
      • Control, as defined in Directive 2013/34/EU on the annual financial statements, consolidated financial statements and related reports of certain types of undertakings:
        • Entities affiliated to an applicant may hence be:
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlled by the applicant (daughter companies or first-tier subsidiaries). They may also be entities controlled by an entity controlled by the applicant (granddaughter companies or second-tier subsidiaries) and the same applies to further tiers of control;
          • Entities directly or indirectly controlling the applicant (parent companies). Likewise, they may be entities controlling an entity controlling the applicant;
          • Entities under the same direct or indirect control as the applicant (sister companies).
        • Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as a e.g. network, federation, association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate or the applicant participates in the same entity (e.g. network, federation, association) as the proposed affiliated entities.

How to Apply

In order to apply for the grants, applicants have to register themselves in PADOR, an on-line database via given website.

For more information, please visit https://bit.ly/2IbSL7n and download the guidelines.