The Netherlands Helsinki Committee (NHC) has launched a regional “COVID-19 Solidarity Programme 2020-2022: Call for Proposals on Covid-19 in Prisons and Mental Health Institutions” with the financial support of the European Union, and in partnership with People in Need and AFEW International.
The NHC, in cooperation with Human Rights in Mental Health (Federation Global Initiative in Psychiatry, FGIP) seeks to provide grants to CSOs to monitor the effect of COVID-19 prevention and treatment measures on the conditions of people confined to closed institutions (both penitentiary and mental health) in Eastern Partnership countries. We will provide sub-grants for CSOs in 4 countries for a period of 9 – 12 months. The grant amounts vary between 6000-12000 euro.
Objectives
- CSOs to monitor and report on a full range of relevant issues; including (discontinuation of) health care and (lack of) contact with lawyers, relatives or loved ones etc.
- Providing advice and assistance to stakeholders, including confined persons, personnel, relatives, lawyers, on problems they encounter in COVID-19 prevention and treatment.
Organisations (or consortia) that already have access to closed institutions under a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) or that through another agreement with authorities have access to these institutions, are invited to submit a proposal. Applicants that do not have a formalized relationship with governmental bodies that provides access to closed institutions need to prove they have a track record of obtaining reliable information based on monitoring and explain in detail how such information will be gathered.
Proposals can be country-wide or limited to certain regions; they can be focused on one category of closed institutions (I.e. only penitentiary or only mental health) or on all of them. The aim of the proposal is to facilitate specific attention for COVID-19 related issues in closed institutions in addition to ongoing work relating to conditions in closed institutions.
Target countries
Proposed projects should target closed institutions in the following countries:
- Armenia
- Georgia
- Moldova
- Ukraine
Eligibility
This call for proposals is open to non-profit-making civil society organisations or consortia of non-profit-making civil society organizations with the status of a legal person, established in Armenia, Georgia, Moldova or Ukraine. In case of consortia, the main applicant will be responsible for the overall implementation of the action. All organisations should have access to closed institutions under a National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) as prescribed by the UNs Convention against Torture’s Optional Protocol (OPCAT), or have a different agreement that allows them to access these institutions. In case the applicant does not have a formalized relationship with governmental bodies that provides access to closed institutions, the applicant needs to prove it has a track record of obtaining reliable information based on monitoring and explain in detail how such information will be gathered.
Applications should provide evidence of the following:
- Registration status as a non-profit organisation registered under national legislation
- At least four years’ experience delivering activities in line with the proposed project
- Experience with managing budgets of similar size
Public administration institutions, state agencies, local or regional authorities, political parties or organisations affiliated with political parties are not eligible for this call. Proposed project duration should lie between 9 and 12 months.
How to apply?
Applicants must submit the following:
- Annex 1 – Application Form
- Annex 2 – Budget
- Registration certificate of the organization (original with an English translation)
- Statute of the organisation (if possible in English)
- Evidence of track record in similar projects
- CVs of the project team
- If the proposal is submitted by a consortium: an outline of the cooperation process and the division of tasks between individual members in the application form (annex 1).
Applications can be submitted in English or Russian (see below). All submitted applications must be signed by the head of the applicant organisation, scanned and sent electronically.
The application package should be submitted to Ms. Lisanne Veldt at LVeldt@nhc.nl
Deadline for submission of full applications is October 31, 2020. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted.
Additional information
You may also submit your proposal related questions until October 25, 2020 via email: LVeldt@nhc.nl
Questions will be responded to within 5 working days.
The decisions will be announced no later than 23 November 2020.
More details about the call for proposals (English and Russian)
