Deadline: 4-Feb-22
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) is pleased to announce an open competition for organizations interested in submitting applications for projects that support forensic anthropology and transitional justice processes—whether judicial or non-judicial, formal or informal, retributive or restorative—around the globe.
Applicants should identify specific forensic anthropology assistance needs as part of an integrated approach to transitional justice in countries transitioning out of armed conflict or repressive regimes to redress legacies of atrocities and promote long-term, sustainable peace. Successful proposals will demonstrate a clear understanding of the target country or countries and the respective operating environment(s) identified by the applicant, including existing U.S. Government or other donor-funded programs working in similar areas. Regional and/or global proposals are also welcomed and should focus on bolstering development and knowledge of regional networks and the collection and dissemination of lessons learned and best practices on transitional justice processes and forensic anthropological tools in Latin America, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, and/or Europe.
Proposals must take an integrated, locally owned, and victim-centered approach in designing, strengthening, and/or promoting transitional justice processes and forensic anthropology assistance aimed at encouraging broad community ownership and sustainability. Program strategies should fit the appropriate cultural, judicial, legal, and economic context(s) of the local context and clearly articulate and address the needs and priorities of victims and their families. In addition, gender considerations must be integrated throughout program design.
Areas
Proposals should address two or more of the following areas:
- Building local forensic anthropological capacities to investigate and prosecute cases of forced disappearances and gross human rights violations through exhuming mass graves; collecting and analyzing DNA samples; identifying victims’ remains; preserving evidence and documentation for a range of transitional justice processes; and/or facilitating increased national, regional, and international awareness through coordination between victims’ family associations and the broader NGO human rights community, including through outreach to key opinion makers, policy makers, and the public at large;
- Strengthening the capacity of local civil society to document human rights violations aimed at pursuing truth, justice, and reconciliation, including through oral histories, forensic evidence, legal documentation focused on criminal accountability, memorialization efforts, and archiving, which may include the use of innovative and accessible secure documentation tools;
- Supporting locally led advocacy, educational initiatives, and/or memorialization, archiving, and additional truth-telling activities to address:
- historical memory and legacies of large-scale human rights abuses; and,
- the prevention of local conflict and mass atrocities;
- Facilitating the empowerment of victims, survivors, and their families through transitional justice programs that will account for the individual and collective needs of different groups of victims and survivors. Program approaches may include, but are not limited to: empowering victims and survivors, particularly among indigenous communities, women, and other vulnerable groups to effectively participate in formal and informal reparative justice processes; fostering coordination, skill-building, and mentorship among diverse civil society actors to better integrate victims and their families into national and local justice and accountability efforts; and, pursuing a trauma-informed approach to truth-telling, memorialization, and documentation prioritizing victims’ and survivors’ active and informed consent, privacy, agency, and physical and emotional safety.
All programs should aim to have impact that leads to reforms and should have the potential for sustainability beyond DRL resources. DRL’s preference is to avoid duplicating past efforts by supporting new and creative approaches. This does not exclude from consideration projects that improve upon or expand existing successful projects in a new and complementary way. DRL is committed to advancing equity and support for underserved and underrepresented communities.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $4,938,270
- Award Ceiling: $4,938,270
- Award Floor: $1,234,567
Eligibility Criteria
- DRL welcomes applications from U.S.-based and foreign-based non-profit organizations/nongovernment organizations (NGO) and public international organizations; private, public, or state institutions of higher education; and for-profit organizations or businesses.DRL’s preference is to work with non-profit entities; however, there may be some occasions when a for-profit entity is best suited.
- Applications submitted by for-profit entities may be subject to additional review following the panel selection process. Additionally, the Department of State prohibits profit to for-profit or commercial organizations under its assistance awards. Profit is defined as any amount in excess of allowable direct and indirect costs. The allowability of costs incurred by commercial organizations is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), Cost Accounting Standards Administration, Contract Cost Principles and Procedures.
For more information, visit https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=336856
