Open Call for Human Rights and Civil Society in Colombia

Deadline: 18-Apr-22

The European Commission (EC) has launched an open call to strengthen the role and actions of Colombian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) as actors that contribute to sustainable territorial development, local governance and a reconciled, more respectful and more egalitarian society, where gender gaps are closed and the challenges of inequity and lack of opportunities faced by youth, women and historically vulnerable groups are addressed.

Lots

Protection and Empowerment: This lot is aimed at women human rights defenders, young people in vulnerable situations (due to risks, lack of socio-economic opportunities, gender condition or other reasons of stigmatization), ethnic groups and/or victims of the armed conflict and its organizations. The specific objectives of this lot 1 are:
- Strengthen protective environments (educational, community, institutional, family, etc.) and improve security guarantees for the target population.
- Recognize and dignify the role and leadership of the target population and strengthen their capacities and skills to claim and exercise their political and social rights and contribute to the development of their communities.
- Support socioeconomic initiatives that contribute to their organizational and/or community empowerment.
Citizen Participation, Territorial Governance and Sustainable Development: The specific objectives of lot 2 are the following:
- Strengthen capacities for effective participation, advocacy, oversight and social control of CSOs in the processes of planning, execution, monitoring and evaluation of public policies and their instruments and thus contribute in a participatory and democratic manner to the preservation of the environment and building peace from a gender perspective.
- Strengthen the capacities of women, youth, ethnic groups and local authorities to manage economic, social, environmental and territorial conflicts, as well as the creation or strengthening of governance spaces.
- Support ongoing socioeconomic, cultural, technological and/or environmental processes in rural areas linked to Development Programs with a Territorial Approach (PDET) and their areas of influence and/or environmentally strategic areas, led by/with ethnic groups, youth and/or or women aimed at promoting decent living conditions, as well as practices that contribute to the fight against climate change.
Reconstruction of the Social Fabric, Reconciliation and Pedagogy for Peace: The specific objectives of lot 3 are the following:
- Promote and encourage narratives and processes that allow a culture of peace, reconciliation and reconstruction of the social fabric.
- Document, publicize and strengthen the transformative efforts and strategies for building peace, social dialogue, and reconciliation promoted from the regions that contribute to mutual understanding and new relationships between vulnerable and non-vulnerable groups, civil society and the State.

Funding Information

The total indicative amount allocated to this call for proposals is EUR 11,178,500.
Indicative distribution of funds per lot:
- LOT 1: Indicative allocation of funds: EUR 4,373,000
- LOT 2: Indicative allocation of funds: EUR 4,000,000
- LOT 3: Indicative allocation of funds: EUR 2,805,500
Amount of subsidies
The grants requested within this call for proposals will be between the following minimum and maximum amounts:
- minimum amount: 800,000 EUR
- maximum amount: 1,200,000 EUR

Eligibility Criteria

Lead applicant(s)
- To be eligible for a grant, the lead applicant must:
  - be a legal person and
  - not for profit; and
  - be a civil society organization; and
  - be established in Colombia or in a Member State of the European Union;
  - be directly responsible, with its co-applicant(s) and affiliated entity(ies), for the preparation and implementation of the action and not simply act as an intermediary;
  - be legally constituted at least five (5) years prior to the presentation of the proposal and have all the official documentation of its registration with the competent national authorities or bodies;
  - have at least four (4) years of experience in project management, of which two (2) years of experience in Colombia and in the technical areas of the lot for which it is applying;
  - In the case of applicants from countries other than Colombia: be registered for at least two (2) years in Colombia before the competent national authorities or organizations, prior to submitting the proposal.
  - In the case of a non-Colombian applicant, a minimum of one Colombian co-applicant must appear;
  - Submit with a maximum of 2 co-applicants per proposal.
Co-applicant(s)
- The co-applicants will participate in the design and execution of the action, and the costs they incur will be eligible in the same way as those incurred by the main applicant.
- Co-applicants must meet the eligibility criteria applicable to the lead applicant himself.
- Co-applicants must sign the mandate form.
Affiliated entities
- The lead applicant and its co-applicants may act with affiliated entities.
- Only the following entities may be considered entities affiliated with the lead applicant or co-applicants:
  - 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, the 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 by the applicant (second level subsidiaries), and the same applies to the following levels of control.
        
        Entities that directly or indirectly control the applicant (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).
    - Membership, i.e. the applicant is legally defined as, for example, network, federation or association in which the proposed affiliated entities also participate, or the applicant participates in the same entity (for example, network, federation or association ) than the proposed affiliated entities.

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