EU-Palestine Call for Proposals: European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) Country-Based Support Scheme (CBSS)

Deadline: 18 March 2019

The European Union is currently accepting proposals from eligible organisations for a program entitled “European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) Country-Based Support Scheme (CBSS) – Budgets 2018-2019 & & EUROPEAN NEIGHBOURHOOD INSTRUMENT (ENI)-ANNUAL ACTION PROGRAMME (AAP-2018)”.

The global objective of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) 2018-2020 is to enhance the respect for implementation and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms in line with international and regional human rights standards, conventions and instruments, and to strengthen their protection, promotion and monitoring, mainly through support to relevant CSOs, human rights defenders (HRDs) and victims of repression and abuse.

It also aims at supporting, developing and consolidating democracy in third countries by enhancing participatory and representative democracy, strengthening the overall democratic cycle, in particular by reinforcing an active role for civil society within this cycle, the rule of law and improving the reliability of electoral processes through means of election observation missions.

In Palestine, the global objective of the Country-Based Support Scheme (CBSS) is to strengthen the role of Palestinian civil society (CS) in the promotion and monitoring of human rights.

Programme Lots

The programme is divided into two lots:

• Lot 1: Support to EU Human Rights Priorities
  • Promote respect/protection for fundamental freedoms mainly: Freedoms of Association, Assembly and Movement.
  • Promote and protect the rights of vulnerable groups and the principle of non-discrimination in particular children, persons with disability (PwDs) and women, with special attention to women/children victims of domestic violence , women/girls with disabilities, to women’s full and equitable integration/ participation/ representation in decision-making, public, political and economic spheres and to addressing high unemployment rates among women.
  • Promote respect for international human rights and humanitarian law (IHL) and coordinated effective monitoring, reporting and implementation of international treaties, agreements, conventions and optional protocols to which Palestine has acceded.
  • Advocating for legislative reforms and promoting access to legal assistance in line with national legal coordination mechanisms are highly recommended in the actions’ design.
• Lot 2: Support to Human Rights Defenders/Organizations
  • Reinforce the capacities of Palestinian Human Rights Defenders and CSOs’ initiatives to promote their work/mandate, their fundamental rights of freedom of expression and access to information and fight against all forms of hate speeches and incitement based on intolerance.

Size of Grants

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

• LOT 1:
  • Minimum amount: EUR 400,000
  • Maximum amount: EUR  650,000
• LOT 2:
  • Minimum amount: EUR 250,000
  • Maximum amount: EUR 500,000

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: civil society organisation, including non-governmental organisations, community-based organizations, charitable society organisations, or private sector non-profit agencies, institutions,  universities and organisations or  public sector non-profit agencies, institutions, universities and organizations or networks thereof at local, national, regional and international level; and
    • be established in Palestine at least 2 years before the launching date of this Call and officially registered with the competent Palestinian authorities; and
    • For LOT 2 (ENI): For British applicants: 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.
    • 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.
  • In addition, the following are however also eligible:
    • For LOT 1: participation is open to all countries.
    • For LOT 2: participation is open to the eligible countries/territories/beneficiaries for the ENI,)
  • 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

• The application procedure consists of two phases:
  • Concept notes
  • Full applications
• The concept note together with the declaration by the lead applicant must be submitted at the address given on the website.

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