Current Open Calls

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

Scope:

With this call, diveded into 4 priorities, we aim at financing projects that will:

• support the development of large-scale, integrated actions to combat gender-based violence and achieve long-term and structural changes with a wide geographical coverage
• protect and support victims and survivors of gender-based violence, including children
• prevent gender-based violence, in the domestic sphere, in intimate relationships, and online, including through targeted actions with perpetrators
• make integrated child protection systems work in practice

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

A Union of values and rights is also based on effective law enforcement systems and the effective detection, investigation and prosecution of breaches of Union law. Support will be given to creating an enabling environment for reporting and informing on breaches of the Union law, in particular by building capacity on the effective application of the Directive on whistleblower protection (Directive (EU) 2019/1937). This Directive provides for an obligation to establish internal and external reporting channels, a strict obligation to maintain the confidentiality of the reporting person as well as for high standards of protection from retaliation and legal remedies for whistleblowers who report on breaches of EU law in a wide range of key policy areas, thus promoting the fundamental values of the rule of law and democracy as well as the right to freedom of expression, enshrined in Article 11 of the Charter.

Civil society organisations play a crucial role in help ensuring an effective implementation of these legal standards. Projects under this priority should support and protect whistleblowers and build capacity of national authorities and legal practitioners to ensure adequate legal remedies to protect whistleblowers.

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

The Charter Strategy underlines the importance of strengthening the application of the Charter in the Member States, in particular through awareness raising and capacity building initiatives.

The projects funded under this priority could address the needs on capacity building and awareness raising on the Charter in general, or they could focus on one or several of the thematics below:

• Rights enshrined in the Charter and awareness of the Charter’s scope of application. In accordance with its Article 51, the Charter is applicable to Member States only when they are implementing EU law. Given the specific nature of this instrument, in comparison with other international Treaties protecting fundamental rights, and considering the increasing number of references to the Charter in the case law of the Court of Justice of the EU, there is a specific need to promote a good understanding both of the rights enshrined in the Charter and of the situations in which the Charter applies, i.e. when EU law is being implemented.
• Protecting fundamental rights in the digital age. To follow up on the Annual Charter Report 2021, on fundamental rights in the digital age, the aim of the priority is to protect fundamental rights by strengthening accountability for the use of automation where rights are at stake. This includes approaches for addressing and combatting bias and multiple/intersectional discrimination based on gender and on other grounds including ethnic and racial origin, caused or intensified by the use of artificial intelligence systems. Projects will aim to develop guidelines (including measures that ensure gender-sensitive implementation), technical benchmarks and tools, including for algorithm-audits. Projects are expected to develop a concrete tool or a benchmark process in an area of the applicant’s choice with demonstrated relevance for fundamental rights, without prescribing the area or the type of the tool (e.g. it could be software, a benchmark data set, a simulation environment, a procedure).

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

As highlighted in the Charter Strategy, people need to be aware of their rights and need help to receive effective judicial protection in case their fundamental rights are breached. Such protection also includes strategic litigation involving rights enshrined in the Charter, which contributes to a more coherent implementation and application of EU law and to the enforcement of individuals’ rights.

Strategic litigators are key to fostering the promotion and protection of Charter rights and support should be given to strengthening their capacity and specialised knowledge on the Charter and on how to develop a strategic approach to cases. In this context, the support and assistance to the victims provided by civil society organisations, NHRIs and Equality bodies and Ombuds-institutions is instrumental.

Projects under this priority should, through training, knowledge sharing and exchange of good practices, strengthen the knowledge and ability of civil society organisations as well as of practitioners, legal professionals and independent human rights bodies to effectively engage in litigation practices at national and European level and to improve access to justice and enforcement of rights under EU law, including the Charter.

Projects under this priority can also include a focus on countering manifestly unfounded or abusive court proceedings against journalists and human rights defenders who engage in public participation (Strategic lawsuits against public participation).

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS

Civil society organisations play a crucial role in combating hate speech and hate crime, thereby safeguarding and promoting fundamental rights. Projects under this priority should aim to enable civil society organisations to establish mechanisms of cooperation with public authorities to support the reporting of episodes of hate crime and hate speech; to ensure support to victims of hate speech and hate crime; and to support law enforcement, including through training or data collection methodologies and tools. Projects should also focus on activities that tackle hate speech online, including reporting content to IT companies, designing countering narrative and awareness raising campaigns, and educational activities to address the societal challenges of hate speech online.

ELIGIBLE ORGANISATIONS