11 Oct 2015

The Delegation of the European Union to Botswana and SADC has allocated P6.7 million to four civil society organisations (CSOs) .

The Head of the EU Delegation, Ambassador Alexander Baum commended the four CSOs activities, saying they were geared towards spreading human rights in Botswana.

In August 2014, the EU Delegation, for the second time, invited Batswana CSOs to come forward with proposals on how the EU could support them in providing nation-wide human rights or civic education; supporting the rights of the child and strengthening child protection mechanisms at all levels; advocacy and promotion of broad and inclusive political and social dialogue on minority or indigenous rights, the rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Intersex (LGBTI) persons and the death penalty.

Through a competitive and thorough process, Ambassador Baum said four organisations managed to access the EU funding and were each awarded approximately P1.3 million over a period of two to three years, depending on their projects’ duration.

The four organisations are; Ngamiland Council of Non-Governmental Organisations- for providing human rights education; Minority Rights Group International- for work on the recognition of minorities and their rights; Botswana Network on Ethics, Law and HIV/AIDS- for promotion and protection of human rights of rural communities and most at risk populations; and Stepping Stones International- for work on child protection or sexual abuse.

He said European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR) was an instrument under which CSOs in over 100 countries around the globe received support to work on a broad spectrum of human rights issues that had been identified as a priority in that particular country.

For societies to grow and prosper, Ambassador Baum said there was need for a continuous process where “we challenge the way we function and how we relate to the rest of the world. To date, approximately 1.1 billion Euros, the equivalent of P12.2 billion, has been allocated to more than 1 200 projects for these purposes worldwide.”

He said the EU, was also fully committed to supporting the work of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations and the implementation of the agreed recommendation in the Universal Periodic Review adding that a vibrant CSO community, was essential for a thriving democratic society. This, he said was the very reason why EU continued to support civil society worldwide in many different ways.

“Human rights can never be taken for granted in any society. They have to be won every day and knowing ones rights is necessary for claiming them. By this programme the EU wishes to contribute to that necessary dialogue,” he added.

The EIDHR programme was first launched in 2013, as a self-standing financial instrument which promotes democracy and human rights worldwide.

This instrument was aimed at contributing to the development and consolidation of democracy, the rule of law, and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedom within the framework of the EU’s policy on development cooperation with third countries, consistently with the EU’s foreign policy as a whole. Ends