The European Union has granted €900.000 to civil society organizations in Bosnia and Herzegovina to support strengthening of democracy and human rights. In total, 5 projects have been awarded with grants involving 13 organisations who will work on protection and promotion of human rights in BiH.
A kick off meeting aimed at sharing information and strengthening mutual cooperation amongst all the grantees and their partners was held today at the EU Office to BiH. The grants were provided within the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) building up on past assistance delivered to BiH’s civil society organisations under the same Programme.
Task Manager in the EU Delegation to BiH Ajša Adrović- Bešlagić presented the awarded projects and underlined the EU’s continued assistance in supporting civil society organisations in improving their efforts towards protecting human rights in BiH. “This year, EIDHR’s strategic approach includes a particular emphasis on vulnerable groups. The awarded projects range from the promotion and protection of children, women, elderly, and LGBTI persons, to protection of consumer rights and corporate respect of human rights. We hope to see some tangible results in all these areas in the forthcoming period,” said Adrovic-Beslagic.
EIDHR is a specific programme of the European Union offering independence of action, which is a critical feature of cooperation with civil society organisations at national level. It represents a concrete expression of the EU’s commitment to support and promote democracy and human rights in non-EU countries and help them better align with EU standards. The total worldwide EIDHR budget for 2014-2020 is over €1.3 billion.
Civil society organisations in BiH are eligible to apply, and have been very successful in withdrawing funds, not only through national EIDHR envelope, but also through calls for proposals launched within the worldwide component of the programme.
