Children comprise one third of the world population and make up more than half of the population in developing countries. They form a unique constituency with particular sets of needs and rights that are recognised as a self-standing set of concerns. More than 200 million children in the world are involved in child labour, doing work that is damaging to their mental, physical and emotional development; over 120 million are engaged in worst forms of child labour.

Children work because their survival and that of their families depend on it. Child labour persists even where it has been declared illegal, and is frequently surrounded by a wall of silence, indifference, and apathy. Too many children are engaged in the worst forms of child labour, including trafficking, armed conflict, slavery, sexual exploitation and hazardous work. Girls and boys may face higher risks depending on certain forms of hazardous and/or exploitative work. The effective abolition of child labour is one of the most urgent challenges of our time.

The present call for proposals both reflects and contributes to the European Commission's (EC) commitments to fight child labour. The thematic Programme 'Investing in People' pursues a broad approach to development and poverty reduction, with the general aim of improving human and social development levels in partner countries in accordance with the United Nations Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals

The overall objective of this call for proposals is to contribute to the eradication of child labour.
The specific objectives are:

1. To promote effective policy dialogue aimed at eradicating child labour, bringing victims of child labour, trafficking or violence into full-time quality education/vocational-education training and re¬integrating them into society.
2. To support partnership and networking between key stakeholders, in particular non-State actors, public entities and the private sector, by promoting corporate social responsibility in the area of child labour.

The United Nations Educational, Science and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), and in particular the Division for Freedom of Expression, Democracy and Peace in the Communication and Information Sector, is currently conducting a call for project proposals under the framework of The Power of Peace Network (PPN).

The Call for Project Proposals with relevant information is available for download. Please submit your proposal no later than 22 June 2010.

For more information: http://www.thepowerofpeacenetwork.com/pg/file/mk.lim/read/5714/call-for-project-proposals

Foundation for Future is an independent, multilateral nonprofit organization working for the promotion of democracy and human rights by strengthening civil society organizations in the Broader Middle East and North African countries and G8 nations. Under its grants program, it offers financial and technical support (through an open competition) to NGOs, academic institutions, professional associations etc under program priorities such as rule of law, independent media, empowerment of women, civic education and engagement of youth. NGOs in the following countries are eligible to submit proposals to the Foundation:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates,
and Yemen.

The criteria to be used to selecting the proposals are as follows:

Initially, concept notes can be submitted by email with brief project details and a concise budget. After reviewing the concept notes, full proposals will be requested from applicants with a given deadline. Concept notes can be submitted anytime, but grant decisions are made twice a year in July and December. For more information, visit this link.

Established by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Voluntary Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery has “the purpose to provide, through established channels of assistance, humanitarian, legal and financial aid to individuals who are victims ofcontemporary forms of slavery.” Every year, it extends grant support to NGOs to implement projects that address “the most severe forms of human rights violations occurring in the context of slavery, as well as the most identifiable contemporary forms of slavery – chattel slavery, debt bondage, human trafficking, serfdom, child labour and servitude, forced labour, and/or forced marriage.” As per its grant cycle, the next call for proposals to fund projects for the year 2011 has been issued.

The Fund’s guidelines provide some insights as to what projects could possibly be funded: “Priority in allocating grants is given to projects addressing the root causes of slavery; providing direct medical, psychological, social, legal, humanitarian, educational or other forms of assistance, to victims ofcontemporary forms of slavery; combined with income generating activities; projects should consider the victims’ need for security, education, independence, and reintegration into society; projects should address the role that human suffering, discrimination, social hierarchy; poverty, gender inequalities and unemployment are playing in perpetuating contemporary forms of slavery; Organizations submitting applications are encouraged to integrate capacity building activities in their applications, which could include human rights and project management training.”

Application forms can be downloaded from the OHCHR website. The deadline to submit them is 31 March 2010. A Board of Trustees in its annual session held in September 2010 will make the final decision on grantees. Grants are disbursed from October to December 2010 for activities proposed to be started in 2011. For more information, visit this link.

Please find attached details of the process for awarding grants to Civil Society Organization (CSOs), National Institutions (NIs) and other groups, primarily conflict victims groups, from the $300,000 grant fund that is a core element of the Peace through Justice project. OHCHR-Nepal is implementing this project through funding by the UN Peace Fund for Nepal (UNPFN), which delivers focused rapid-disbursing funds through UN agencies to support the peace process and is financed by contributions from Norway, UK, Denmark, Canada, Switzerland and the UN Peace Building Fund.

It  aims to provide assistance to the establishment and effective functioning of the transitional justice mechanisms provided for in the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, namely the Commission of Inquiry on Disappearances, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. OHCHR-Nepal requests grant applications from conflict victim groups, CSOs, NIs, and professional associations to implement activities that engage the grassroots level in the transitional justice process and contribute to the work of the Commissions. As past experience has shown, the goals of strengthening democracy and peace are more likely to be achieved with active consultation, and participation of victims groups, civil society and the general public.

Grants will given to implement larger scale projects of up to $50,000 per grant, and also to allow organisations operating at the grassroots level (particularly conflict victim’s groups) to implement smaller scale projects of up to $10,000. Project implementation time-lines can be of varying durations, but activities should be completed by 1 September 2010, with a possibility that the project implementation period may be extended in the future.

Consideration shall be given to any project activities that are considered to contribute effectively to the transitional justice process in Nepal. Project areas that shall be considered will include, but not be limited to, the following: strategic workshops for civil society; awareness raising; the production of materials on transitional justice; psycho-social support to victims; victims’ documentation; and public Interest litigation.

Please visit  http://nepal.ohchr.org/en/index.html for more information