Promoting Human Rights and the Rule of Law in Iraq

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DRL seeks to fund programs to increase human rights protections and strengthen the rule of law in Iraq. Proposed programs must address one or more of the following areas: ? Supporting civil society efforts to monitor security services and address abuses. Supported activities may include, but are not limited to, monitoring conditions in prisons and other detention facilities and following up on issues identified, documentation of human rights abuses by security services, providing human rights and rule of law training to law enforcement, and combating impunity for human rights violations through legal advocacy and other channels. ? Enhancing the democratic governance of the security sector and increasing human rights protections through strengthening parliamentary oversight of the security sector and supporting civil society engagement with relevant government institutions and elected officials on security policy development. ? Increasing transparency and addressing abuses in the criminal justice system. Activities may include advocacy for legal and regulatory reforms to protect human rights and increase transparency in the criminal justice process; training and support for NGOs and activists to track cases in the criminal justice system to ensure due process is observed; and addressing torture and other human rights abuses that occur in the criminal justice process. The program should provide capacity building, coaching, networking, and other support to local partners, as needed. ? Working with civil society to promote cooperation between civilians and police at the community level. ? Establishing a documentation center within an existing institution, such as a university, to serve as a repository for human rights abuse case information and a resource for documentation methods and standards, and to help coordinate the current documentation efforts of Iraqi human rights organizations. The proposal must demonstrate how the program will build off of existing capacity of the Iraqi NGO community, many of which have already received training in documentation standards. Proposals must clearly demonstrate how the proposed programs will complement and build upon existing efforts in these program areas. These funds cannot be used to provide assistance to military or paramilitary organizations. The duration of proposed programs must be two years. Applicants may request between $900,000 and $2,000,000.

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