Civil Society for Enhanced Democracy and Human Rights in Ukraine

Project Summary

The project aims to enhance the institutional capacity of civil society actors in the regions of Ukraine, so that they have a stronger impact on the reform processes in the country in the areas of democracy and human rights, and to contribute to more inclusive, democratic and rights-based governance through enhanced capacity, better coordination and networking.

Project Goals

  1. Strengthen civil society organisations to promote democracy and foster participatory and a result-driven Government-CSO dialogue at all levels in Ukraine.
  2. Enhance the capacities of human rights actors to promote and defend human rights in Ukraine.
  3. Enhance civic youth engagement and youth participation in decision-making at all levels.

The project builds upon the achievements of the previous Democratization and Human Rights Programme (2013-2016).

It is a nation-scale five-year initiative which runs from 1 April 2017 until 31 March 2022.

The project will focus on the following:

  • 8 organisations – regional leaders (civil society “hub”) will receive a grant for the institutional development of their network  
  • 6 organisations – regional leaders in the new regions will receive institutional grants for their own organizational development (core support) and will join the hubs’ network  
  • The CSO hubs’ network, consisting of 14 organisations, will receive grant for the implementation of the All-Ukrainian project in accordance with the priority agenda of democratic governance reforms
  • Networking and coalition building in the area of democratization and human rights.  
  • 40 subnational organisations will be supported to implement projects in the areas of democratization, human rights and enhancing youth civic engagement.
  • Democratization: Thematic priorities in the area include citizen participation in decision-making at the local level and in the process of forming and using the funds of the local budgets; supporting local initiatives, mechanisms of local democracy, public control and government accountability; creating innovative e-tools for stimulating citizen engagement; advancing the reform agenda at the subnational level; engaging in the implementation of the National Strategy for Facilitation of Civil Society Development at the subnational levels, and others.  
  • Human rights: Thematic priorities in the area include monitoring Ukraine’s human rights commitments under international treaty bodies and lobbying for the approval and implementation of the respective national strategies and policies; human rights awareness and education, documentation of the human rights violations related with the armed conflict in certain districts of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts; supporting integration of the human-rights-based approach in the everyday work of the civil society organisations; and monitoring the progress of reforms from the human rights perspective.
  • Youth civic engagement: Thematic priorities in the area include specialized training for the youth workers on enhancing youth civic activism; youth initiatives in the area of democratization and human rights; youth social innovation; and engaging young people in volunteering for civil society organisations at the national and subnational levels.

Announcements

Partners:

  • the widest possible range of civil society actors,
  • the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers,
  • the Committee of Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine on State Building, Local Governance, Regional and Urban Development,
  • the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports of Ukraine,
  • the Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine, and
  • other relevant actors.

Impact

START DATE

April 2017

END DATE

January 2023

STATUS

Completed

PROJECT OFFICE

Ukraine

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER

United Nations Development Programme

DONORS

Dept of Forgn Afrs Trade & Dev

GOVERNMENT OF DENMARK

GOVERNMENT OF FRANCE

GOVERNMENT OF NORWAY

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$5,599,327

DELIVERY IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2017$579,173

2018$1,062,264

2019$1,444,244

2020$983,341

2021$844,556

2022$631,737

Full Project information