The Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor (DRL) has announced a Request for Statements of Interest (RSOI) from organizations interested in submitting Statements of Interest (SOI) for programs that support the goal of ending impunity for security sector abuses in Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Mali, and Nigeria.

DRL's goal is to end impunity for security sector abuses. SOIs should seek to strengthen human rights protections in the security sector and to pressure governments to be responsive to security force gross violations of human rights.

Program activities may include:

• Supporting and building the capacity of civil society and civilian experts to safely gather credible, detailed information about gross violations of human rights by security forces, including information to support identification of perpetrators.
• Strengthening civil society’s ability to collaborate with governments on reform efforts and advocate effectively and with expertise to government entities on gross violations of human rights by security forces and on civilian casualties.
• Advocating for, developing, and/or monitoring the implementation of legal framework initiatives and other efforts to support human rights protections in the security sector, including related to the protection and wellbeing of children in conflict and post-conflict situations.
• Strengthening journalist capacity to investigate and report on security sector issues and abuses, including civilian casualties and the use of child soldiers.
• Building reporting channels for abuses committed by security forces (citizen tip lines, social media, official reporting, tribal/other group reporting).

Expected Outcomes

• Increased knowledge and capacity among civil society and media actors to engage on security sector issues and advocate for reform.
• Improved and increased reporting on abuses committed by the security sector.
• Communities and civil society engage effectively and positively with security forces and governments, and effectively influence security force policy and practice.
• Governments acknowledge, prevent, and address security sector abuses.

Funding Information

The amount available for this award is $987,654. Applicants should aim to submit budgets for the full amount available for this award, and budgets that exceed $987,654 will not be viewed favorably. The target period of performance for projects must be between 18 and 48 months, but upon review of the SOI, DRL may request that the period of performance be extended to ensure safe and effective implementation of proposed program activities.

Eligibility Criteria

Organizations submitting SOIs must meet the following criteria:

• Be a U.S.- or foreign-based non-profit/non-governmental organization (NGO), or a public international organization; or
• Be a private, public, or state institution of higher education; or
• Be a for-profit organization or business (noting there are restrictions on payment of fees and/or profits under grants and cooperative agreements, including those outlined in 48 CFR 30, “Cost Accounting Standards Administration”, and 48 CFR 31, “Contract Cost Principles and Procedures”); and
• Have existing, or the capacity to develop, active partnerships with thematic or in-country partners, entities, and relevant stakeholders including private sector partner and NGOs; and
• Have demonstrable experience administering successful and preferably similar programs. DRL reserves the right to request additional background information on organizations that do not have previous experience administering federal awards. These applicants may be subject to limited funding on a pilot basis.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.