The overall objective of the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) is to contribute to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms. Information on how to apply is compiled on this webpage and can be downloaded here.

Background	Project Duration
Types of Grant	Deadline
Grant Size	Application Forms
Own Contribution	Application & Procedures
Funding Priorities	Languages
Grantmaking Criteria	Tips
Guidelines	Pdf Download

The European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) is in place from 1 January 2007 onwards. The overall objective of the instrument is to contribute to the development and consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, and of respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms.
In particular, this means to:

• enhance the respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms and to promote and consolidate democracy and democratic reform in third countries, mainly through support for civil society organisations, providing support and solidarity to human rights defenders and victims of repression and abuse, and strengthening civil society active in the field of human rights and democracy promotion;
• support and strengthen the international and regional framework for the protection, promotion and monitoring of human rights, the promotion of democracy and the rule of law, and reinforcing an active role for civil society within these frameworks;
• build confidence in and enhancing the reliability of electoral processes, in particular through election observation missions, and through support for local civil society organizations involved in these processes.

The overall EIDHR budget for the period of 2007 to 2013 is € 1,104 billion.

Co-funding projects and programmes/ grants to international organisations/ small grants to human rights defenders.

To be defined in the annual action plans 

To be defined in the annual action plans

The EIDHR supports actions in the following areas:

Participatory & representative democracy (including parliamentary democracy, the processes of democratization) mainly through civil society organisations, inter alia in:

• freedom of association/ of opinion, independent media, access to information,
• rule of law, promoting access to justice;
• strengthening the International Criminal Court
• effective and transparent democratic accountability and oversight, measures against corruption;
• political pluralism and democratic political representation, encouraging political participation by citizens, in particular marginalised groups;
• equal participation of men and women in social, economic and political life, and supporting equality of opportunity, and the participation and political representation of women;
• measures to facilitate the peaceful conciliation of group interests

Protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms concerning civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, mainly through civil society organisations

• death penalty, torture and the rehabilitation of victims of torture;
• support for human rights defenders
• fight against racism, discrimination based on sex, race, colour, ethnic or social origin, age or sexual orientation, etc
• rights of indigenous peoples, minorities and ethnic groups;
• rights of women, measures to combat female genital mutilation, forced marriages, crimes of honour, trafficking, and any other form of violence against women;
• rights of the child, fight against child labour, child trafficking and child prostitution, and the recruitment and use of child soldiers;
• rights of persons with disabilities;
• promotion of core labour standards
• education in the area of human rights and democracy
• support for civil society organisations focusing on human rights

Strengthening the international framework for the protection of human rights, justice, the rule of law and the promotion of democracy

• support for instruments concerning human rights, justice, the rule of law and democracy;
• fostering cooperation of civil society with international
• organisations, and supporting civil society activities aimed at monitoring the implementation of instruments concerning human rights
• promoting observance of international humanitarian law

Building confidence in and enhancing the reliability and transparency of democratic electoral processes

• deployment of European Union Election Observation Missions;
• by contributing to developing electoral observation capacity of civil society organisations at regional and local level, and supporting their initiatives to enhance participation in, and the follow-up to, the electoral process

Funds are allocated following strategy papers, which specify the priority areas selected for financing, objectives, the expected results, performance evaluation as well as indicative financial allocation. Further, the European Commission prepares annual action programmes the objectives, the fields of intervention, the expected results, the management procedures and the total amount of financing planned. They contain a description of the operations to be financed, an indication of the amounts allocated for each operation and an indicative implementation timetable. In the future, these documents will be available here.

 

The following actors are eligible for co-funding under this instrument:  

• civil society organisations, including non-governmental non-profit organisations and independent political foundations, community based organisations, and private sector non-profit agencies, institutions and organisations, and networks thereof at local, national, regional and international level;
• public sector non-profit agencies, institutions and organizations and networks at local, national, regional, and international level;
• national, regional and international parliamentary bodies, when this is necessary to achieve the objectives of this instrument and unless the proposed measure can be financed under a related Community external assistance instrument;
• international and regional inter-governmental organisations;
• natural persons if this is necessary to achieve the objectives of this Regulation.

Applicants can be nationals of or legal persons, who are established

• in a Member State of the Community, in an accession or official candidate country or in a Member State of the European Economic Area.
• Or in a developing country, as specified by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/DAC)

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The practical implementation of the EIDHR is regulated by two documents:
1 “Rules and Procedures”
This document explains the basic principles the implementation of an action, which is supported by a grant from the Community.
2 “Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EC External Actions” (PRAG)
The purpose of the PRAG is to provide users with all the information necessary to undertake procurement or a grant procedure from the very first steps to the award of contracts. The annexes cover both the procurement phase and the execution of contracts. The Guide provides the procedures to be used in centralised systems (centralised and indirect centralised) and de-centralised systems with ex-ante approval or with ex-post controls by the European Commission.

To be defined in the annual action plans

To be defined in the annual action plans

The annexes of the Practical Guide to Contract Procedures for EC External Actions” (PRAG) (see below) include standard forms used in calls for proposals. For each call for proposal, they are provided together with the guidelines setting out the objectives of the call.

The calls are managed by the EC delegations and are published on the Europe Aid  website. This website has just been reviewed in order to make it more user-friendly. Tenders and grants are awarded following strict rules. These rules apply to the management and nature of calls for proposals/tenders. All EC external assistance follows the same set of rules (EC management procedure). 

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In order to succeed in accessing EC funds, a good understanding of the rules and procedures of the calls are crucial. Little administrative mistakes, such as submission after the deadline or missing documents lead to an immediate rejection. NGOs considering responding to a call should carefully read the guidelines. Project objectives should directly be linked to the objectives of the call. Applicants should also read the relevant policy papers and refer to them, when appropriate.

EC officials use an EC handbook explaining how to draft and manage a proposal. This document can also be useful for NGOs especially part 2 on the logical framework approach. It is called “Aid Delivery methods – Volume 1 – Project Cycle Management Guidelines”.

NGOs with little experience in applying for EC funding should consider participating in other NGOs’ projects funded by the EC. As a junior partner they can build their capacity and get acquainted to EC requirements without taking full responsibility for a project. Consult and liaise with both the EC Delegation in the beneficiary country and the Brussels-based officials. Another information source is CONCORD Europe, the European confederation of relief and development NGOs (contact details below). You also might get support from your national NGO platform.

CONCORD Secretariat aisbl
10 Sq. Ambiorix
1000 Brussels
Belgium
Phone: +32 2 743 87 60
Fax: +32 2 732 19 34
secretariat@concordeurope.org
www.concordeurope.org/

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