CALL FOR PROPOSALS
STRENGTHENING CIVIL SOCIETY CAPACITY TO SUPPORT WAR-AFFECTED PEOPLE
IN ACCESSING THE REGISTER OF DAMAGE FOR UKRAINE
|
Project |
Further Strengthening judicial and non-judicial remedies for the human rights protection of the war-affected people in Ukraine |
|
Awarding entity |
Council of Europe |
|
Council of Europe Office in Ukraine |
|
|
Funding |
Council of Europe Action Plan for Ukraine “Resilience, Recovery and Reconstruction” (2023-2026). |
|
Duration |
Projects shall be implemented by 28 February 2026. Reporting requirements shall be completed by 27 March 2026. |
|
Estimated starting date |
01 October 2025 |
|
Issuance date |
04 August 2025 |
|
Deadline for applications |
31 August 2025 |
TABLE OF CONTENTS
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE PROJECT
6. Further to the general objective, preference will be given to:
7. The following types of action will not be considered:
4. Change, alteration and modification of the application file
VI. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE
VII. NOTIFICATION OF THE DECISION AND SIGNATURE OF GRANT AGREEMENTS
Appendices:
- Appendix I - Application Form
- Appendix II - Provisional budget (Template)
- Appendix III - Template Grant Agreement (for information only)
I. INTRODUCTION
This call for proposals is launched in the framework of the Council of Europe Project “Further Strengthening judicial and non-judicial remedies for the human rights protection of the war-affected people in Ukraine”.
It aims to co-fund national, regional, local projects aimed at raising awareness about the Register of Damage for Ukraine among the war-affected people and strengthening capacity of the civil society organisations to assist potential claimants in submitting claims to the Register.
Project proposals shall aim to produce an added value to the Council of Europe efforts in this domain.
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON THE COUNCIL OF EUROPE PROJECT
In particular, it aims to
a) further improvement of the domestic legal and regulatory framework on remedies and reparations for the
war-affected people and documenting of war-related damage, loss, and injury in line with Council of Europe standards and recommendations;
b) strengthening judicial protection and facilitating access to legal aid for war-affected people in line with Council of Europe standards and the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights;
c) enhancing access to non-judicial remedies and administrative redress mechanisms for the war-affected people.
Project partners include Supreme Court, Constitutional Court of Ukraine, Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, National School of Judges of Ukraine, Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision, Law Faculties in Higher Education Institutions in Ukraine.
Detailed information about the Project activities can be found by this link.
The indicative available budget under this call for proposals is 15 000EUR (fifteen thousand). The Council of Europe intends to award 1 (one) grant.
Subject to availability of funds and extension of the Project initial duration, the Council of Europe reserves the right not to award all available funds, and/or to redistribute the available funds in a different manner, depending on the project proposals received and on the outcome of the call for proposals.
Since 2015, the Council of Europe has consistently supported Ukraine in safeguarding the human rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other conflict-affected populations. Its cooperation projects in Ukraine have been widely recognised for delivering tangible results in crucial areas of human rights protection.
Even prior to the full-scale Russian aggression in 2022, the Council of Europe identified access to justice and effective compensation mechanisms for victims of armed conflict as priority areas requiring targeted assistance. Since 24 February 2022, Russia’s full-scale military aggression against Ukraine has caused widespread loss of life, human suffering, and extensive destruction. This conflict has been characterised by numerous serious violations, including war crimes such as torture, sexual violence, and grievous bodily harm. It has also resulted in substantial damage to private, state, and municipal property—including residential and non-residential buildings, infrastructure, and enterprises—across nearly every region of Ukraine.
In response to these challenges, the Council of Europe has played a leading role in establishing the Register of Damage Caused by the Aggression of the Russian Federation Against Ukraine (the “Register” or “RD4U”). Announced at the Council of Europe Summit in Reykjavík in May 2023, the Register represents a landmark international initiative aimed at documenting all eligible claims relating to damage, loss, or injury resulting from Russia’s aggression. Supported by 44 countries and the European Union, the Register is headquartered in The Hague, the legal capital of the world, with a satellite office in Ukraine. It constitutes the foundational step towards the establishment of a comprehensive international compensation mechanism for victims.
The Register serves as an international record of all eligible claims for compensation of damage, loss or injury caused by Russia's full-scale aggression. In this respect, the Register adopted a list of 43 categories of claims which can be submitted to it by those affected by Russia’s aggression. Of these 43 categories, 11 are currently opened for submission to the Register via web portal Diia. All of them concern claims that can be submitted by war-effected individuals, including:
· involuntary internal displacement (claims category A1.1);
· death/disappearance of an immediate family member (categories A2.1/A2.2);
· serious personal injury (category A2.3);
· sexual violence (category A2.4);
· torture or inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (category A2.5);
· deprivation of liberty (category A2.6);
· forced labour or service (category A2.7);
· damage or destruction of residential/non-residential immovable property (categories A3.1/A3.2); and
· loss of access or control of such property in the temporarily occupied territories (category A3.6).
Over 40,000 individuals have already submitted their claims to the Register in the above categories, and many more are expected to be submitted further.
Concurrently, the Council of Europe is implementing the Project “Further Strengthening Judicial and Non-Judicial Remedies for the Human Rights Protection of War-Affected People in Ukraine” (the Project). This initiative seeks to enhance access to justice, improve redress mechanisms, and expand relief measures for war-affected individuals at the national level. Building on prior achievements and expert recommendations, the Project focuses on enhancing data collection, verification tools, and registers concerning key categories of war-affected persons and types of damage. This work promotes coherence, complementarity, and interoperability between Ukraine’s domestic records and the Register of Damage in accordance with internationally recognised standards, including the “Riga Principles”.
This leads to an important intermediate outcome: war-affected people benefit from improved non-judicial remedies and their awareness of administrative redress mechanisms and relief programmes is increased. As a result, the immediate outcome is that more people have access to clear, reliable information about how to use these remedies, redress mechanisms, support programmes, and claim for their war-related damages.
To achieve this, the Project carries out targeted media campaigns, spreading information about existing remedies and relief options. It also develops and widely shares clear, accessible materials on the rights of war-affected people and how to claim compensation. These efforts make sure that people know where to turn for help and how to submit claims to the Register.
The Project actively cooperates with the RD4U Kyiv Office to support outreach activities aimed at facilitating the submission of claims by affected individuals. Through targeted media campaigns and comprehensive
awareness-raising initiatives, the Project ensures that war-affected persons receive accurate and reliable information regarding their rights, existing domestic remedies, redress mechanisms (national and international).
In order to increase the awareness of those affected by the war about the Register, its mandate, categories of claims and the claims submission procedure, the Register has deployed an extensive outreach programme. The programme is aimed at potential claimants who will benefit from comprehensive reliable information and support regarding submission of claims to the Register. This is to be achieved by enhancing stakeholders’ capacities and coordination among various stakeholders in Ukraine, including regional and local authorities, international organisations, civil society organisations (CSOs), free legal aid providers and other entities which provide assistance to claimants in submitting claims to the Register. Among these stakeholders, CSOs play a key role in this process, given that they have access to the most vulnerable war-affected persons, years of experience in activities regarding the outreach and assistance and the trust of the society.
In this respect, the grant will fund projects aimed to:
· assist the Register in the implementation of its outreach program by contributing to raising awareness about the Register, opened claims categories and the claims submission procedure among potential claimants with a focus on one or more regions of Ukraine, especially those that have been affected the most, and targeting one or more war-affected groups as potential claimants; and/or
· provide directly legal and/or technical assistance and/or advice to one or more categories of potential claimants in the process of submission of claims to the Register with a focus on the most vulnerable ones
The projects should be focused on the government-controlled areas and communities across Ukraine, including de-occupied territories.
The above is not an exhaustive listing but gives an indication of the nature of expected activities from the projects proposed.
Projects may include but are not limited to:
· Creation and dissemination of short, clear, and user-friendly instructional videos (social videos, ‘shorts’, ‘reels’, etc.) via widely used social media, local networks, messaging apps, and other channels. These videos should focus specifically on step-by-step guidance on how to submit claims to the Register, including explanations tailored to different claim categories, war-affected groups (potential claimants), and regions most impacted by the conflict.. Topics of videos will eventually be confirmed by the Project in coordination with the Register;
· preparation and distribution of practical awareness-raising materials (flyers, brochures, posters, infographics) in accessible language, specifically oriented towards explaining the claims submission process, eligibility criteria, required documentation, and available support services. These materials should be widely disseminated in the most affected regions, both physically (at community centres, IDP collective sites, local government offices) and digitallyorganisation of interactive awareness sessions, workshops, and information stands in communities, especially targeting vulnerable and hard-to-reach groups. These activities should focus on clarifying the claims submission procedure, addressing common questions, and offering on-the-spot assistance or referral to legal and technical support providers. The content of such material will eventually be confirmed by the Project in coordination with the Register;
· carrying out awareness-raising activities directly to potential claimants before the Register, especially in their areas of their residence and/or collective sites (such as for IDPs);
· provision of legal and/or technical assistance to the most vulnerable persons (elderly persons, persons with disabilities, persons with the limited access (or skills) to gadgets/internet/Diia) on submission of claims to the Register:
· development of feedback and monitoring mechanisms to track the effectiveness of awareness and assistance activities, gather claimant experiences, and adjust outreach strategies accordingly to maximise accessibility and impact.
Regardless of the type of action, the successful project and its components should ultimately be aimed at ensuring better access for the war-affected people to remedies and reparations through submission of claims to the Register in one or more opened categories. In this respect, grant proposals should foresee comprehensive support to potential claimants with a focus on most vulnerable groups and demonstrate tangible measurable results.
The implementation period of the projects should start on 1 October 2025 (see indicative timetable under VIII. below) and shall not extend beyond 28 February 2026.
Reporting requirements shall be completed on 27 March 2026 at the latest.
Projects completed prior to the date of submission of applications will be automatically excluded. As regards projects started prior to the date of submission of applications, or prior to the date of signature of the grant agreement, only those costs incurred after the date of submission of a grant application could be eligible (provided the agreement concerned so provides).
The proposed projects should particularly focus their activities on awareness-raising about the Register and opened claims categories among those entities which are in direct touch with large groups of potential claimants before the Register (associations of victims of war, social support centres, local authorities and other institutions and CSOs which provide social, humanitarian, legal and other support to war-affected population at the local level, etc.).
Project proposals shall be accompanied by a draft budget (See Template Budget, in Appendix II) amounting to a maximum of 15 000 EUR (fifteen thousand). The estimated budget must be consistent, accurate, clear, complete and cost-effective, in the light of the activities proposed.
Each Grantee shall also be required to contribute to the project either by way of its own resources or by contribution from third parties. Co-financing may take the form of financial or human resources, in-kind contributions or income generated by the action or project.
6. Further to the general objective, preference will be given to:
· projects/actions implemented by CSOs broadly using modern communication formats and engaging media as well as relevant regional and local institutions in raising awareness about the Register among potential claimants,
· projects/actions demonstrating prompt practical effect for potential claimants before the Register and, in particular, resulting in submission of relevant claims to the Register;
· projects/actions integrating and promoting the Council of Europe standards and increasing the visibility of the Register among potential claimants and the public at large.
7. The following types of action will not be considered:
· Projects/actions providing financial support to third parties (re-granting schemes).
· Projects/actions concerning only or mainly individual scholarships for studies or training courses.
· Projects/actions supporting political parties.
· Projects/actions supporting academic research and/or academic publications.
· Projects/actions targeting beneficiaries on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
The funds for each grant should in principle be distributed as follows:
|
Instalments |
Instalment Amounts |
Conditions for Instalments |
|
1st Instalment |
70% of grant amount, EUR |
within 30 days of receipt of this Agreement duly signed |
|
2nd Instalment |
20% of grant amount, EUR |
within 30 days from the approval of the FIRST Narrative Progress and Financial Reports |
|
The balance |
within 30 days from the Council’s approval of the Final Narrative and Financial Reports together with all other documents specified in Article 2.4.3 f) and g) of the Grant Agreement |
· narrative reporting requires a full narrative report on the use made of the grant and a copy of the register of the persons present during each of the activities, including names and signatures of participants;
· financial reporting requires in particular a statement in the currency in which the Grant Agreement will be concluded (Euros or local currency), in English, stating the payments made for the implementation of the activities, certified by the responsible financial officer of the Grantees, accompanied by “appropriate original supporting documents” (see below). The Council of Europe reserves the right to ask for summary translations of invoices into English. If for legal reasons the original documents must be retained by the Grantees, certified copies must be submitted with the financial statement.
|
Report |
Reporting period |
Submission by |
|
First Financial Progress Report |
When the expenditure under the Action reaches at least 70% of the 1st instalment received or half of the implementation period |
1 week after the expenditure under the Action reaches 70% of the funds received, and In any event, no later than 1 week after the last day of half of the implementation period |
|
Final Financial Report |
Cut off date of the First Financial Progress Report – Last date of the implementation period |
2 weeks after the last date of the implementation period |
“Appropriate original supporting documents” refers to signed contracts, invoices and acceptances of work (for all transactions), payment authorisation for all transactions should also be provided in case the Grantees use such practice, and reliable evidence of payment (authorised payment order and bank statement).
As regards round tables/conferences, presenting “appropriate original supporting documents” requires presentation of a programme indicating the title, dates, venue, and agenda of the event; the names of persons facilitating the event, a signed list of participants, the contracts with the owner of venue of the event (e.g. hotel) for the rent of premises, food and beverages of participants, invoices from the owner of the venue of the event for the above services, and a report on the results of the event (see narrative reporting above).
As regards consultancy services, presenting “appropriate original supporting documents” requires presentation of evidence of the outputs produced, contracts with experts and consultants containing a specific description of services to be carried out, invoices produced after the works have been performed and delivered (the specialities of the consultants shall correspond to the nature of activities for which they are contracted).
As regards travel fees / lodging of experts and participants, presenting “appropriate original supporting documents” requires presentation, where relevant, of contracts with a travel agency for travel fees and lodging, invoices of the travel agency indicating destinations, dates, ticket costs, and names of the travelling persons, a programme of the event indicating the names of the experts and signed lists of participants.
The above description is not comprehensive. Any doubt regarding the interpretation of the notion of “appropriate original supporting documents” should lead the Grantee or the Lead Grantee in case of a consortium to consult the Council of Europe.
Each application shall contain:
· Complete and sign the Application Form (See Appendix I)
We kindly ask you to send the completed Application Form in Word format, as well as the completed and signed form in PDF or Word format.
· Attach a provisional budget (using the template reproduced in Appendix II)
Please note that the maximum grant amount that may be awarded by the Council of Europe is
15000 EUR. Your contribution is considered additional to the grant amount allocated by the Council of Europe.
We kindly ask you to provide a budget that clearly indicates which costs are covered by the Council of Europe and which costs (in the case of your financial contribution) are covered from your own budget.
· Attach a list of all owners and executive officers.
· Attach the other supporting documents:
- Certificate(s) of registration as a non-profit organisation (in Ukrainian or in English);
- Statute of the organisation (in Ukrainian or in English);
- Bank certificate confirming the existence of the bank account in EUR in the name of the organisation (in Ukrainian or in English);
- Evidence of the organisation’s record and experience in the areas relevant to the call (in Ukrainian or in English);
- CVs of the key staff (up to 5 persons) involved in the implementation of a proposed project (in Ukrainian or in English)
Please provide the following documents in a readable and clear format, preferably as separate PDF files, named accordingly.
Please ensure that scanned copies are legible and complete, with all pages included and properly aligned. Where applicable, electronic versions (Word or PDF) of CVs and narrative documents are preferred over scanned copies.
Applications that are incomplete will not be considered.
General information can be found on the website of the Council of Europe Project Further Strengthening judicial and non-judicial remedies for the human rights protection of the war-affected people in Ukraine.
Other questions regarding this specific call for proposals must be sent at the latest one week before the deadline for the submission of proposals, in English or in Ukrainian, and shall be exclusively sent to the following address: [email protected], with the following reference in subject: Question – RD4U Project – «Name of the Organisation».
The application form completed and signed, together with the supporting documents, must be submitted in electronic form (Word and/or PDF, We kindly ask you to send the completed Application Form in Word format, as well as the completed and signed form in PDF or Word format) to the following e-mail address: [email protected]. Emails should contain the following reference in subject: Grant Application – RD4U Project – «Name of the Organisation».
Applications must be received before 31 August 2025 at 23:59:59 EEST Applications received after the above-mentioned date will not be considered.
4. Change, alteration and modification of the application file
Any change in the format, or any alteration or modification of the original application file, will cause the immediate rejection of the application concerned.
VI. EVALUATION AND SELECTION PROCEDURE
The projects presented will be assessed by an Evaluation Committee composed of three staff members of the Council of Europe.
The procedure shall be based on the underlying principles of grant award procedures, which are transparency,
non-retroactivity, non-cumulative awards, not-for-profit, co-financing and non-discrimination, in accordance with Rule 1374 of 16 December 2015 on the grant award procedures of the Council of Europe.
The applicants, and their projects, shall fulfil all of the following criteria:
Applicants shall be excluded from the grant award procedure where they or, in the case of legal persons, their owner(s) or executive officer(s):
a) have been sentenced by final judgment on one or more of the following charges: participation in a criminal organisation, corruption, fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, terrorist offences or offences linked to terrorist activities, child labour or trafficking in human beings;
b) are in a situation of bankruptcy, liquidation, termination of activity, insolvency or arrangement with creditors or any like situation arising from a procedure of the same kind, or are subject to a procedure of the same kind;
c) have received a judgement with res judicata force, finding an offence that affects their professional integrity or constitutes a serious professional misconduct;
d) do not comply with their obligations as regards payment of social security contributions, taxes and dues, according to the statutory provisions of the country where they are established;
e) are an entity created to circumvent tax, social or other legal obligations (empty shell company), have ever created or are in the process of creation of such an entity;
f) have been involved in mismanagement of the Council of Europe funds or public funds;
g) is not in a situation of an actual, potential or perceived conflict of interest; a conflict of interests arises where any person has a personal interest which is such as to influence, or appear to influence, the impartial and objective exercise of their responsibilities under this procedure. A personal interest includes any advantage to themselves, their relatives or personal relationships (including based on political or national affinity), business or financial interests or any other interest shared with another party;
h) are included in the lists of persons or entities subject to restrictive measures applied by the United Nations Security Council or the European Union.
By signing the Application Form, applicants shall declare on their honour that they are not in any of the above-mentioned situations (See Appendix I, Item 12 Declaration).
The Council of Europe reserves the right to ask applicants at a later stage to supply the following supporting documents:
- for the items set out in paragraphs a), b), c) and f), an extract from the record of convictions or failing that an equivalent document issued by the competent judicial or administrative authority of the country where the applicant is established, indicating that these requirements are met;
- for the items set out in paragraph d), a certificate issued by the competent authority of the country of establishment;
1. for the items set out in paragraph e);
1. for natural persons, a scanned copy of a valid photographic proof of identity (e.g. passport)
2. for legal persons, an extract from the companies register or other official document proving ownership and control of the applicant.
In order to be eligible for a grant, an applicant must:
· be legally constituted as a non-governmental organisation.
· be entitled to carry out in Ukraine activities described in its project proposal.
· have been active for at least12 (twelve) months since its registration in the field of work with the war-affected people in Ukraine.
· have proven experience on providing awareness raising campaign and/or legal and/or technical assistance to the war-affected persons.
· have sufficient financial capacity (stable and sufficient sources of funding) to maintain its activity throughout the period for which the grant is awarded and to participate by way of its own resources (including human resources or in-kind contributions).
· have sufficient operational and professional capacity, including staff, to carry out activities described in its project proposal.
· have a bank account.
Multiple applications are not allowed and shall lead to the exclusion of all applications concerned.
Applications will be assessed against the following criteria:
1. Relevance, Strategic Fit, and Compliance (60%)
The degree to which the proposed action aligns with the objectives and priorities of the call, while fully complying with mandatory requirements.
Includes:
∙ Alignment with thematic focus and goals
∙ Contribution to addressing identified needs or gaps
∙ Added value in comparison to existing initiatives
∙ Clear and direct responses to technical and procedural requirements
2. Quality and Feasibility of the Action Plan and Budget (20%)
The clarity, realism, and coherence of the proposed activities, methodology, timeline, and resource allocation.
Includes:
· Logical structure of the activity plan
· Realistic budget and cost-effectiveness
3. Organisational Capacity and Expertise (20%)
The experience, qualifications, and operational capacity of the applicant(s) and proposed staff to deliver the action.
Includes:
· Relevant experience with similar projects
· Participation in the Register’s Civil Society Coordination Platform
· Adequacy of human and institutional resources
· Track record of accountability and successful implementation
VII. NOTIFICATION OF THE DECISION AND SIGNATURE OF GRANT AGREEMENTS
On completion of the selection process, all applicants will be notified in writing of the final decision concerning their respective applications as well as on the next steps to be undertaken.
The selected Grantees will be invited to sign a Grant Agreement (See Appendix III, for information only), formalising their legal commitments. Potential applicants are strongly advised to read the draft contract, in particular its requirements in terms of payment and reporting.
|
Phases |
Indicative timing |
|
Publication of the call |
04 August 2025 |
|
Deadline for submitting applications |
31 August 2025 |
|
Information to applicants on the results of the award procedure |
20 September 2025 |
|
Signature of the grant agreements |
26 September 2025 |
|
Implementation period |
1 October 2025 – 28 February 2026 |
* * *