Organisational Support
If you are a human rights organisation or community in need of support, you can reach out to us. Our team will assess your request and guide you through the support channels available throughout our Mechanism, including but not limited to grant-making opportunities.
Note that the Secretariat of ProtectDefenders.eu no longer assesses application forms for grants via this centralised channel.
Send a request for organisational support by filling out the request form below.
Shelter initiatives programme
The “Shelter Initiatives” programme contributes to enhance and increase the capacity of shelters and other initiatives for the temporary relocation of HRDs at risk at the local and regional levels.
Its specific objectives are:
- Providing direct material and financial support to new and emerging shelter programmes to develop and strengthen their capacity to deliver effective temporary relocation through a call for proposals.
- Providing advice and expertise and facilitating networking opportunities and knowledge-sharing between initiatives.
This programme takes into account the fact that the differences in terms of language, culture, climate, and distance play a crucial role in the decision of some HRDs at risk whether to relocate or not. It thus complements international relocation schemes by supporting those local and regional projects that respond to the needs of HRDs according to the specificities of the local and regional context; thus benefiting from best practices identified by local entities:
Local and regional initiatives are key relocation partners for defenders at risk, thanks to their first-hand contextual information, close relations with actors working on human rights issues in the countries of origin, their ability to react quickly to emergencies, and their expertise in handling in-depth follow-up once the HRDs come back to their country.
The European Union Temporary Relocation Platform
As part of the support provided to human rights organisations, ProtectDefenders.eu coordinates the European Union Temporary Relocation Platform (EUTRP). As an initiative of the European Commission, it is a network of entities engaged in temporary relocation of at-risk human rights defenders.
The EUTRP is constituted of entities working to support HRDs who have been temporary relocated or who are seeking temporary relocation at the local, national, regional and international level.
The members of the EUTRP are non-governmental organizations, EU institutions, universities and other relevant education institutions, and national, regional and local governments. Each member is linked to the temporary relocation of HRDs at risk in different capacities: they can act as host entities, grant-making entities, donors, policy makers, or referral entities, coordination hubs, and others.
The EUTRP is a space for its members to to:
- Network with other members to provide collective and comprehensive responses to individual cases of HRDs at risk, including cross checking of references;
- Provide and receive advice and expertise;
- Facilitate knowledge-sharing and peer-to-peer learning;
- Facilitate networking opportunities;
- Identify fundraising opportunities;
- Develop research;
- Benefit from capacity-building initiatives;
- Develop joint actions and strategies;
- Receive and disseminate information related to temporary relocation of HRDs at risk with key stakeholders;
To learn more about this initiative or to join the EUTRP, visit the EUTRP website.
I am a defender or organisation at risk, how can I access support?
Frequently Asked Questions about ProtectDefenders.eu’s support
The support we can provide is mainly linked to, but not limited to, emergency grants programmes and organitional support grants run by our Consortium partners to cover urgent protection measures and support human rights organisations capacities. Each situation and case are different, and so are the grants and resources ProtectDefenders.eu mobilise. An emergency grant may cover for, among other, physical security measures (e.g., safe transportation, alarm systems), emergency relocation, legal aid (e.g., lawyer fees), medical costs or family support, but this list is nonexhaustive and you are encouraged to identify the protection needs that work best for your case. Political and advocacy support, as well as other form of non-monetary support, are also included among the support channels we can provide.
For individual support, our grants cover physical security measures (e.g., safe transportation, alarm systems), emergency relocation, legal aid (e.g., lawyer fees), medical costs or family support, and all other measures appropriate for the risk situation of the defender. Please note that measures that are not related to physical or psychological security (e.g., university education, office supplies, rent) cannot be covered by the individual support we offer. For organisational support, our grants cover capacity building, psychosocial support, security, advocacy training, and emergency relocation. Please note that, also in this case, the list is not exaustive and the organisation can propose further measures depending on their particular needs. We try to accommodate all requests, based on our internal capacities.
You can send a request for individual support through this link. You can send a request for organisational support through this link. Still unsure on how to apply? Get in touch
Not necessarily. You can send a request and communicate officially with us in English, French, Spanish, Arabic, or Russian. We will do our best to accommodate requests in other languages, too.
Through its different programmes, ProtectDefenders.eu provides support to human rights defenders at risk because of their work related to human rights. Due to our specific mandate and to budgetary constraints, ProtectDefenders.eu cannot, unfortunately, support all human rights defenders in need. However, you may find information about other organisations that can provide support to human rights defenders at risk here
It is crucial that you reply to all questions in the form. Please provide sufficient information to give an understandable overview, however you do not need to include information that is not directly related to the questions or not relevant to the present request.
The Emergency Grants programme, as implemented by our partners, can cover for a maximum of 10,000EUR, with the average grant being 3,000 EUR. However, these values are only illustrative: ProtectDefenders.eu will assess the relevance of the measures and their impact on the security situation of the defenders on a case by case basis. The organisations support programme, as implemented by our partners, can cover a meximum 15,000 EUR. However, for requests between 40,000 and 50,000 EUR partial funding may be considered.
Yes. If you are at risk and your family is in need of support as a result of it, you can request support for them.
When sending a support request, you have the possibility to indicate the protection measure best suited to address your risk situation. Our Mechanism can support several protection measures and can help the defender assess the most appropriate support options, though we strongly encourage the defender to propose the protection modalities they deem most relevant, as they are the ones best placed to decide upon their own security.
After you have submitted your request, it will be reviewed by the ProtectDefenders.eu secretariat. If it meets our criteria, you will be guided through available support channels within and outside of our Mechanism, based on your needs, and thematic and geographical focus. It will be up to you to then practically navigate and reach out to the support channels suggested, although we will be available for assistance and guidance in the process as needed.
Only one request per Human Rights Defender will be processed at a time. If you send several requests, you will be asked to choose which one shall be processed. Also, if you have applied to different programs outside of ProtectDefenders.eu at the same time, please indicate this in your request form. However, one requester can submit requests for different Human Rights Defenders at the same time.
In order to inquire about the status of your support request, please reach out to: support@protectdefenders.eu for individual and organisational requests
If your request has been rejected, you will be informed of this outcome by the ProtectDefenders.eu secretariat. Otherwise, you will receive a reply from the Secretariat addressing your support request.
Yes, all information that you give is kept confidential. If your request for support is accepted, you will be asked whether the information you have provided shall be kept confidential or can be shared. You can then choose between the two options.
If you believe that you have been negatively affected by the actions of ProtectDefenders.eu or its representatives, you can submit a complaint through our website and we will review it thoroughly. If you do not have a specific complaint but would like to provide feedback regarding our work, you can also use this channel to communicate your feedback to us.
