US grant for projects to boost human rights in Sri Lanka

• Funding floor of the grant has been set at $1,750,000 while the ceiling is at $2,000,000

By Easwaran Rutnam 

The United States has offered a grant for projects to boost human rights in Sri Lanka. 

The US Department of State, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour (DRL) announced an open competition for organisations interested in submitting applications for projects that advance and protect freedom of association and freedom of assembly in Sri Lanka. 

The funding floor of the grant has been set at $1,750,000 while the funding ceiling is at $2,000,000. 

The State Department noted that as per the 2020 Human Rights Report, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Freedom of Association and Peaceful Assembly noted that although the country had a comprehensive legal framework governing the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, it was “scattered in different sets of laws and regulations which seem to be interchangeably enforced.” 

DRL seeks proposals for programmes that utilise legal mechanisms and the judicial system to ensure these legal protections are enforced and these rights are respected in Sri Lanka. Proposals should assess the use of policies, laws and programmes on democratic political competition, civil society, and media freedom that are being put into place in Sri Lanka under the new government. 

Additionally, proposals should provide legal and organisational support to organisations and individuals facing undue government restrictions, pressure, inspections, and censorship to ensure they can continue to operate, as well as foster civil society-led strategic litigation to advance the protection, fulfilment, and respect for 
human rights.