Call for proposals to civil society actors to protect and support human rights defenders

Priority themes

Projects should support human rights defenders working in the following areas:

• Women's rights and gender equality
• Combating discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity
• Freedom of expression and media, cultural rights
• Freedom of religion and belief
• Labor rights
• Rights of persons with disabilities
• Democratic development and the rule of law

Who can apply for grants?

Potential grant recipients are:

      International, regional and Norwegian civil society organisations (non-profit, non-governmental)

Cross-Cutting Issues

The following four cross-cutting issues must be considered in all initiatives:

• Human Rights: The initiative must be rooted in human rights and based on the principles of participation, accountability, and non-discrimination. A human rights-based approach to development (HRBA) must be applied, and the application must describe how this approach is applied in a systematic manner and followed up in practice.
• Women's Rights and Gender Equality: A gender analysis that informs all stages of the initiative should be conducted. Gender equality should be integrated as an objective, with at least one indicator to measure progress. Where relevant, gender-disaggregated data on result indicators must be collected. 
• Climate Change and the Environment: The risk of negative effects on climate change and biodiversity loss must be assessed and mitigating measures put in place.  
• Anti-Corruption: Zero tolerance for economic misconduct such as fraud, bribery, nepotism, illegal allowances, or other types of misuse of the grant must be upheld. Where corruption risks negatively affect the achievement of project or programme objectives, risk-mitigating and preventive measures shall be incorporated into the initiative and followed up.

Application Deadline: November 18, 2025, 1:00 PM (CET)

For detailed information and application: Norad Grants Portal