CALL FOR APPLICATIONS: Financial Support for Casework Costs
REDRESS is able to provide financial support to cover some of the casework costs of legal cases against torture, particularly torture in the context of protests and discrimination against LGBTIQ+ persons.
Priority will be given to applications from Africa and Latin America, but strong applications from other regions will be considered. This support is through the United Against Torture Consortium, which is funded by the European Union.
Torture in the context of dissent relates to the use of torture to crush protest and activism. Targeting among others lawyers, human rights defenders, journalists, and protestors, torture in the context of dissent manifests in the form of, for example, police brutality against protesters and activists, forced disappearances of activists. The use and threat of torture against those who dissent closes civil society space, creating an atmosphere of fear, making it even more difficult to hold governments to account.
Torture in the context of discrimination relates to the use and threat of torture against minority groups, knowing that they may be be powerless to respond. Torture in the context of discrimination is often used to silence and oppress marginalised and excluded communities.
What Costs Can We Cover?
This call for applications will support fees and costs for anti-torture casework in the context of dissent and discrimination. The costs that can be covered by this financial support include:
- Legal Fees, including travel
- Expert witness fees (including travel), particularly medical experts
- Court filing fees (and printing)
- Investigation costs
- Medical costs
- Expert witness fees (including travel), particularly medical experts
- Psychosocial support for survivors involved in litigation
- Costs for survivors to participate in court hearings, including travel
- Translation and interpretation costs
Information on Financial Support
- Under this call for applications, you can apply for financial support up to €6,000 Euros
- The support is intended to cover specific costs that arise in legal claims, rather than the cost of the project itself
- Recipients will need to produce receipts for all costs claimed
- REDRESS will pay an overhead fee of 7% to cover the time needed to administer the financial partnership
- The funds must be expended within six months, i.e. by 11 May 2025 for grants paid on 11 November 2024
- Priority will be given to applications from Africa and Latin America, but strong applications from other regions will be considered
Eligibility Criteria
The call for application is primarily aimed at anti-torture non-governmental organisations.
To be considered an applicant must:
- Be a legally registered or constituted organisation
- Be a not-for profit, charitable organisation or law firm undertaking torture cases
- Have proof of incorporation or registration with the relevant national authority
- Have a mandate and experience relating to strategic litigation challenging torture
What we are not able to support:
- Casework costs that are not in support of strategic litigation cases of torture in the context of dissent and discrimination
- Individuals, including individual student scholarships, or airfares, or attendance at overseas conferences
- Core funding in the form of on-going support of applicant’s operational or organisational costs such as wages and salaries, office items and communications
Application Review Cycle
| Step | What you can expect |
| Application Received | These will be reviewed on a rolling basis. |
| Initial Review | We will review the application form and let you know if we can take the application forward. |
| Review Process | Applications will be looked at more carefully. Applicants may need to provide supporting documentation. There will also be a due diligence process to assess the capacity of the NGO to deliver the work. We will communicate to applicants who do not pass the review process and provide feedback on both the application and the due diligence assessment outcome. |
| Final Decision and Payment | We will contact successful applicants after which the funds will be disbursed. |
How to Apply
Download and fill out the Application Form and Budget Template, then email them to [email protected].
Applications will be considered on a rolling basis. Please note that up to ten awards are available. Once the funds are spent, we will close the call for applications.
Download Applicant Documents:
Application Form Budget Template
About the United Against Torture Consortium
The United Against Torture Consortium brings together the global memberships of the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT) and the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT) with the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT), Omega Research Foundation, and REDRESS. The consortium works in partnership with national civil society organisations and other partners worldwide to build a global movement. The three-year project is focused on providing direct assistance to thousands of torture survivors and strengthening local staff capacity to advocate with national actors responsible for torture prevention and rehabilitation. Survivors’ experiences and, for those who wish, their direct participation is at the centre of the consortium’s torture prevention, rehabilitation and justice processes, both nationally and internationally.