Call for expressions of interest: Small grants for advocacy with UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights

Applications can be submitted in English, Spanish and French through this form, until 27 July 2023.

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IDPC will host an online Q&A ‘in English’ for those interested in applying to this small grants programme on Thursday 13 July at 2pm UK time ( 8am Bogotá, 4pm Nairobi, 9pm Kuala Lumpur). You can register for this webinar here:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYlcemtqD0pE9Bt59XmCgEuRmsm9N0sWrFh

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Background

The UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (CESCR) oversees the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), one of the key international human rights treaties that has been ratified by +170 countries (see list here). In October 2022, the CESCR announced that it would work on a General Comment on the impacts of drug policies on economic, social, and cultural rights. The General Comment will provide comprehensive guidance on how to implement human rights obligations in line with the ICESCR. More information on the process and the topics that are likely to be included in the General Comment can be found here.

Object of this call for expressions of interest

Through this call, a consortium of civil society and community organisations working on drug policy and human rights will support three local partners with small grants of maximum USD 5,000 for strategic advocacy with CESCR, to take place between August 2023 and August 2024.

The activities proposed will seek to document the impact of drug policies on economic, social, and cultural rights at a country level, and use that information for advocacy with CESCR in country reviews, and in calls for inputs and consultations organised specifically for the General Comment.

A calendar of CESCR sessions and upcoming country reviews is available here. An outline of the expected consultation in preparation of the General Comment can be found in this note. For the purposes of this application, it should be assumed that a call for written inputs and a consultation in preparation of the General Comment will take place between August 2023 and August 2024.

The countries initiating or completing their review with CESCR in the second half of 2023 are: Armenia, Brazil, Colombia, Chad, France, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Qatar, Netherlands, State of Palestine, Russian Federation, Uruguay, Zimbabwe.

The countries initiating or completing their review with CESCR before August 2024 are: Angola, Georgia, Indonesia, Iraq, Ireland, Mauritania, Namibia, Pakistan, Romania, Sierra Leone, and Sweden.

Grant specifications

Proposals can include a wide range of advocacy activities on the impacts of drug policy on economic, social and cultural rights, including: consultations with affected communities; research and documentation; drafting of submissions to CESCR; participation in online or in-person briefings and consultations; travel; and dissemination of findings.

The accepted proposals:

• Will generate new evidence on the impacts of drug policies on economic, social and cultural rights, ideally on topics that are less well known (see list of potential topics here).
• Will include activities that are connected to the workplan of CESCR, either as part of their country reviews (calendar here), or as part of the drafting of the General Comment.
• Will be co-led or co-created by affected communities.
• Will be country-specific and embedded in a long-term strategy for national drug policy reform.
  

Proposals must be submitted by a single organisation that will sign the terms of reference, and to whom the funds will be disbursed. However, activities can be executed together with other entities, and the funds can be sub-granted.

While colleagues from all regions are invited to apply, priority will be given to proposals from the Global South

Application and selection process

• Application period: 7 July – 27 July 2023.
• Assessment period:  28 July - 4 August 2023.
• Notification of support: 7 August 2023.
• Initiative implementation: Work is carried out from August 2023 to August 2024.
• Feedback submission period: Once the activity is finished.

To apply, please fill in the application form available here.

We can receive applications in English, French and Spanish.

If you would like any further information or have difficulties completing the application form or need support, please reach out to mnougier@idpc.net