Deadline: 03-Dec-21
The Freedom Fund has announced a new Tariff Act Legal Fund designed to curb forced labour in global supply chains.
The Fund provides grants to civil society organisations for the purpose of carrying out on-the-ground evidence collection of forced labour that can be linked to goods entering the U.S and providing this information as a petition to Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
The goal is to support the enforcement of the U.S. forced labour import ban as a mechanism to advance corporate accountability and build pressure on businesses to improve human and labour rights standards in global supply chains.
Funding Information
- Interested parties may apply for a grant of up to $50,000 USD. Grant funds shall only be used for costs associated with the Tariff Act project.
- Grants will be provided to cover activities over a 12-month period. In exceptional circumstances, they may consider projects up to 18 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Human rights organisations, civil society organisations, watchdog groups, trade unions, worker groups and investigative journalists are invited to submit proposals. They are particularly interested in receiving applications from organisations based in the Global South, or partnerships between international and local groups.
- Applicant organisations must be able to demonstrate:
- Presence in the target country, or a well-established relationship with civil society or worker groups based there
- Experience in carrying out human rights research and/or investigations
- Knowledge of issues relating to worker exploitation, including forced labour
- Risk management policies and procedures
- As the aim of the Fund is to build capacity within civil society to use the Tariff Act mechanism, priority will be given to organisations that have not previously submitted a petition to CBP.
Criteria
- This is a global call for proposals. The Fund does not focus on specific countries or industries but is committed to supporting geographically diverse Tariff Act enforcement. Projects should meet the following criteria:
- The investigation targets a specific sector or industry where there is evidence of forced labour occurring. This includes but is not limited to goods included in the ILAB List of Goods Produced with Forced and Child Labour.
- A Withhold Release Order (WRO) is not already in place for this specific sector or industry.000000000000
For more information, visit https://freedomfund.org/press-release/new-tariff-act-legal-fund-launched/