Guidelines

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Penal Reform and the Rights of Detainees

Application Guidelines

Funding Priorities

the Human Rights and Governance Grants Program (HRGGP) welcomes projects in the three priority areas listed below.

Promoting Respect for Human Rights in Pretrial Detention and Prisons

Regular and periodic visits by independent monitoring groups are central to protecting the rights of detainees. In the absence of outside pressure, human rights abuses in prisons are allowed to go unchecked. Unfortunately, NGO monitoring remains the only source of independent information on prisons in most countries.

HRGGP welcomes advocacy projects that aim at strengthening respect for human rights and public oversight in prisons. Strategies include, but are not limited to:  

• Strengthening safeguards within prisons and the criminal justice system to reduce and prevent human rights violations and violence in prisons through, for instance, the establishment of internal complaints mechanisms in prisons or improving access to legal aid for detainees;
• Ensure detainees have access to a lawyer, including efforts to promote early access to counsel and legal services in detention centers;
• Improving systems of public oversight and independent monitoring mechanisms, such as the introduction of OPCAT National Preventive Mechanisms or other independent oversight bodies;
• Increasing the transparency and accountability of prison management and the use of public funds;
• Encouraging success of future reentry by maintaining detainees' ties to the outside world through measures, such as liberalizing visiting regulations, leaves from prison, working outside the prison, and the access of NGOs or volunteers to prisons.

 Challenging the Overuse of Incarceration

Overcrowding in a large number of prisons across the region has been documented repeatedly by civil society actors and international bodies, and is acknowledged by state agencies. However, overcrowding is accepted as an unalterable reality. The construction of new prisons is often considered to be the only viable solution. There is very little discussion at the policy level about the causes of overcrowding, its consequences, and a range of possible solutions. The idea that certain people such as juveniles for instance, should be incarcerated only in rare exceptional cases if at all, is scarcely entertained. In fact, the age of criminal responsibility has been lowered in several countries of the region.

Whether imprisonment is appropriate for individuals who have committed non-violent petty crimes has also yielded little debate. Despite the adoption of legislation on alternatives to imprisonment across the region, very little progress has been made in substituting non-custodial alternative sentences for imprisonment. While some progress has been achieved in reducing the use of pre-trial detention, too many countries continue to rely on incarceration even when alternatives are available.

HRGGP welcomes advocacy projects that challenge the overuse of detention and offer more viable alternatives to incarceration. Strategies include, but are not limited to:

• Taking steps to reduce the prison population, especially among the most vulnerable groups, such as juveniles, pregnant women, people with mental disabilities, people with serious health conditions; as well as first-time or non-violent offenders and people in pre-trial detention;
• Reducing the reliance on pretrial detention and promoting alternatives that have the appropriate support to give confidence to judicial actors;
• Challenging the myth that punitive penal policies lead to heightened security;
• Strengthening the application of alternative sentences to incarceration.

Combating Discrimination in Sentencing, Prisons and Reentry

Although there is plenty of indirect evidence about discrimination in criminal justice systems in the region, there has been little research to uncover discrimination in sentencing, during incarceration or after release. For instance, even though ethnic profiling by police has been documented in several countries, there is scant research on ethnic discrimination on the use of pretrial detention, in sentencing or other phases of the criminal justice procedure. Discrimination leading to violence during incarceration is very rarely documented, even though instances of violence against members of the LGBT community are well-known. There is very little data about the discrimination that people released from prison experience in the labor-market or in access to services, even though individuals with a criminal record are routinely barred from legitimate employment in most countries of the region.

HRGGP welcomes research and advocacy projects that seek to remove discriminatory barriers or reduce discriminatory practices in order to combat discrimination in the use of pretrial detention, sentencing, prisons and reentry. Strategies include, but are not limited to:

• Addressing disparities and injustice in the use of pretrial detention and sentencing practices, which disadvantage certain groups or individuals;
• Uncovering discrimination suffered during incarceration by certain groups of detainees;
• Documenting discrimination experienced by people released from detention in employment, access to housing or services, and enjoyment of civil and political rights.

Eligibility

The Human Rights and Governance Grants Program provides support to domestic and international NGOs active in Central and Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.  Coalitions of NGOs are also encouraged to apply.

Recognizing that those most impacted by criminal justice and penal policies should be included in reform efforts, participation of people with criminal records is welcome.

Successful projects must have clearly defined advocacy goals and detailed plans for how they will be achieved. Proposals should also include communication strategies for generating heightened support for penal reform efforts, including campaigning and mobilizing elements as appropriate.

Funding will be provided to advocacy projects addressing one or more of the above priority areas through research and advocacy, impact litigation, and policy analysis. HRGGP does not provide support for stand-alone trainings and conferences, service provision, or individual academic study/ research/ travel.

Application Procedure

Applications may be submitted for projects with a duration of no more than 24 months. Prior to sending a full proposal, potential applicants should submit a brief concept paper of no more than 2-3 pages to determine whether projects meet the Human Rights and Governance Grants Program’s current funding priorities and guidelines. Concept papers may be submitted on an ongoing basis until the deadline of August 1, 2010. Please send submissions to Herta Tóth: htoth@osi.hu.

The concept paper should include:

• a brief description of the project, planned activities, methodology, and goals;
• information about the applicant organization;
• estimated overall budget and timeframe for the project.

Once the program has reviewed concept papers, grant seekers may be invited to submit a full application. Proposals for funding should be submitted in an electronic format and sent via email. The narrative part of the proposal should not exceed 10-15 pages. Other relevant information may be sent as appendices. While there are no application forms, the program expects all proposals to contain the following information:

• Executive summary: a maximum 1-2 page summary on the project and desired outcomes.
• Information about the applicant organization(s): brief history of the organization, its major achievements and the kinds of projects it has implemented to date. This section should provide the program with an understanding the organization’s mission and broad strategy.
• Description of the context in which activities will take place: relevant background information, such as the situation in the area where the organization will be working, problems and difficulties, potential opportunities, etc.
• Project goal and rationale: an explanation of not only broad goals, but also very specific benchmarks.
• Description of activities: a detailed outline of activities planned, how and when they will be carried out, and by whom.
• Advocacy and communications strategy: details on who is the audience that will be targeted and how the proposed activities will seek to influence stakeholders to implement the desired reforms.
• Organizational capacity: the names of all persons involved in the project and their responsibilities.
• Partners: a list of all the organizations and institutions with which the applicant organization will be cooperating.
• Expected outcomes/sustainability: please identify the specific expected outcomes of the project you will be implementing. Please include qualitative as well as quantitative indicators that will enable the organization to measure its success. As for sustainability, the program would like to get an understanding of what impact the project hopes to achieve and whether that impact will be sustainable.
• List of current and pending grants: a list of the names of all projects, their duration, grant amounts, and donor organizations.

Budget

Along with the proposal, applicants should submit a budget and a budget justification. The program encourages applicants to use the budget form in the attached Excel sheet, which is comprised of four separate worksheets. The attached Budget Instructions document will assist applicants in completing the budget form.

Please make sure that the budget includes the following information:

• duration of the project;
• legal name of the applicant organization in English;
• full contact information (address, tel/fax, email, website);
• bank information (name, full address, account holder, account number, SWIFT code, correspondent bank information, other information);
• name and position of the person responsible for signing documents on behalf of the organization.

Decision-Making Process

The Human Rights and Governance Grants Program accepts proposals on an ongoing basis. The program does not have specific deadlines for submitting applications; however, applicants should contact the program in order to determine the best time for submission.

While the program does not preset funding ceilings, it expects applicant organizations to demonstrate funding from other donors. Both single- and multi-year proposals are acceptable.

Once a complete application has been received, it typically takes about three months to complete the application review process and deliver the decision. Final grant decisions are made by the OSI Sub-Board for Law and Human Rights.

Grant decisions in 2010 will be made in two rounds:

• Concept papers submitted before January 20, 2010, will receive final decisions by May 1, 2010.
  
• Concept papers submitted before August 1, 2010, will be notified of funding decisions by November 30, 2010.

Grant-Monitoring Process

The grant monitoring process takes place throughout the grant period. It includes periodic reporting by the grantee as well as visits by a program officer to review activities more closely. In certain cases, the program may request an external evaluation or audit of grantee organizations.

Contact the Human Rights and Governance Grants Program.