Deadline: 14-Jul-2025
UN Women has launched a call for proposals under the Khulani Nathi Innovation Fund, aiming to strengthen the leadership of Rohingya and host community women peacebuilders to promote social cohesion and gender-responsive protection in Cox’s Bazar.
This initiative builds on previous peacebuilding experiences and addresses the evolving dynamics in the region. The selected local Women’s Rights Organization (WRO) will lead community-led peacebuilding efforts across ten locations—eight in refugee camps and two in host communities—with a focus on conflict prevention, trust-building, mediation, and early warning systems.
The selected organization, known as the Responsible Party, must be registered in Bangladesh, have experience in GBV prevention and protection programming, and demonstrate strong operational and financial management capacity. It should also contribute to the broader goals of the Joint Response Plan (2025–2026) and align with frameworks like UNSCR 1325 and the Beijing Platform for Action.
Scope of Work
The project focuses on empowering women peacebuilders to lead community protection, conflict prevention, and social cohesion initiatives within and between Rohingya and host communities.
Activity 1.1 involves forming and training 10 women peacebuilding groups, reaching 200 women across selected locations. These women will be trained in conflict resolution, mediation, dialogue facilitation, early warning, and women’s rights. Specialized paralegal training will also be provided to selected members.
Activity 1.2 supports these groups in organizing peace dialogues and trust-building workshops, enabling them to design and implement community-led action plans and arts-based or sports initiatives that promote collaboration and mutual understanding.
Activity 1.3 focuses on the creation of community-based early warning and response mechanisms, led by women peacebuilders. These systems will help monitor, report, and respond to emerging tensions in collaboration with local authorities and camp management.
Activity 1.4 promotes evidence-based advocacy and knowledge-sharing. Women’s groups will conduct assessments to identify protection barriers, share their findings with authorities, and document their success stories to inform future policy and humanitarian programming.
Funding
The proposed budget should fall within BDT 33,880,000 – BDT 36,300,000 (approximately $280,000 to $300,000 USD). The grant period covers implementation across three years.
Key Deliverables
Deliverables include training reports, documentation of peace dialogues, community trust-building action plans, early warning protocols, advocacy briefs, case studies, and lessons learned to inform broader policy and planning frameworks like the NAP on Women, Peace and Security (WPS).
Project Goals
The overall outcome is to empower Rohingya and host community women and girls through a gender-responsive environment that improves their access to protection, education, and economic opportunities. The specific output aims to build the leadership of local women and WROs to improve social cohesion and service delivery in Cox’s Bazar.
Required Competencies
Eligible applicants must have an operational presence in Cox’s Bazar and a proven track record in peacebuilding, protection, and women’s empowerment. They should have experience working with marginalized women and demonstrate a commitment to safeguarding and Do No Harm principles.
Preferred competencies include experience in conflict-sensitive programming, human rights-based approaches, women, peace, and security, and access to justice or paralegal support initiatives.
For more information, visit UN Women.