News · 1 December 2020
The Norwegian Human Rights Fund expands its support to civil society organizations in Colombia
30 human rights organizations will receive financial support to develop peace and human rights projects, thanks to an agreement signed with the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Colombia.
The Norwegian Human Rights Fund Colombia (FNDH Colombia) remains committed to supporting civil society as a path to promoting human rights around the world. Colombia is a key place to keep demonstrating this commitment. That is why nearly 30 organizations have joined those that were already FNDH Colombia partner organizations, bringing the total to 46 projects with activities that will have an impact in 31 of Colombia's 32 departments.
“This is an important step to continue contributing to the defense of human rights in a society that is trying to build peace after the signing of the Peace Agreement”, said Caroline Aarsaether, country director of FNDH Colombia.
The call to choose the selected organizations opened on October 8 and ended in late December with the beginning of the signing of the collaboration agreements. 670 proposals were received, of which 30 were selected, aiming to solve different local and national problems and meeting various criteria such as relevance, efficiency, sustainability and local roots, among others. All of them are aligned with the areas in which the FNDH works in Colombia: peacebuilding, the fight against impunity and access to justice for victims of human rights violations; the strengthening and advancement of the fulfillment of the rights to land, territory and defense of the environment; promotion of guarantees for the defense of human and environmental rights; and contribution to gender equity, the participation and empowerment of women as peace actors and the effective enjoyment of their rights. An important fact regarding the latter is that special attention was paid to the presence of women leading the organizations or in decision-making positions. Thanks to this, half of the organizations chosen have female leadership.
A complex three-month process, but necessary to select much-needed initiatives with objectivity, impartiality and diversity. This made it possible to obtain a broad sample of organizations of all kinds, as well as of the type of audience they will reach with their projects. In terms of size relative to the financial results of previous years, 62% are medium and large, while the rest are small. In addition, 54% of the organizations will work on land rights and environmental issues and conflicts. Meanwhile, 21% will focus their efforts on working with Afro-descendant or Indigenous populations and 17% with peasant populations. For their part, 63% will focus on developing initiatives that promote protection and guarantees for the defense of human rights and access to justice. It is important to clarify that some organizations will work with several populations in the same project.
With this work, FNDH Colombia strengthens its commitment to the defense of human rights in Colombia, something it will continue to reinforce during 2021 by exploring new alliances.
Below you can find the list of the new partner organizations:
- Alianza Iniciativa de Mujeres Colombianas por la Paz - IMP
- Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas Inga del Municipio de Villagarzón Putumayo
- Asociación Nacional de Zonas de Reserva Campesina - ANZORC
- Asociación Víctimas de Crímenes del Estado
- Asociación para la Promoción Social Alternativa - MINGA
- Coordinación Colombia Europa Estados Unidos
- Centro de Información sobre empresas y derechos humanos - CIEDH
- Centro de Formación y Empoderamiento para las Mujer- Ambulua
- Consejo Comunitario General del San Juan - ACADESAN
- Corporación de Mujeres Ecofeministas - COMUNITAR
- Corporación Ensayos para la Promoción de la Cultura Política
- Corporación Jurídica Libertad
- Corporación Jurídica Yira Castro
- Corporación para el Desarrollo del Oriente "Compromiso"
- Corporación para la Paz y los Derechos Humanos- REDEPAZ
- Corporación Sisma Mujer
- Fundación Estrella Orográfica del Macizo Colombiano - FUNDECIMA
- Fundación Forjando Futuros
- Fundación Foro Costa Atlántica
- Fundación Natura
- Instituto de Estudios para el Desarrollo y La Paz - INDEPAZ
- Ilex Acción Jurídica
- Ruta Pacífica de las Mujeres
- Asociación de autoridades tradicionales indígenas AWÁ - Organización Unidad Indígena del pueblo Awá-Unipa
Originally published by Fondo Noruego para los Derechos Humanos (FNDH) in 2021
