Covid-19: UNDP launches low-value grants to encourage innovative actions

UNDP, in partnership with the National Human Rights Commission, has launched Low-Value Grants (LVG) to foster small-scale innovative actions to address human rights issues during and after the Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh, engaging civil society organisations and community radios.

The LVG, under the Human Rights and Justice Programme of UNDP, supported by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), UNDP, is calling for innovative ideas, actions, and approaches to solve human rights problems and challenges, leaving no one behind, in different thematic issues, says a statement today.

The Human Rights and Justice Programme, with funding support from SIDA and SDC, has been working with the state-based institutions, particularly the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), to strengthen its capacity to better deliver on its mandate and the law-enforcing agencies (in particular police) to better defend and protect human rights.

It has successfully been able to engage other stakeholders also such as civil society organisations, human rights defenders, youths and faith leaders to promote a human rights culture.

The programme has given special focus on working with most vulnerable and marginalised groups, including women and girls, children and young people, ethnic and religious minorities, people with disabilities, Dalit and other excluded minorities.

This call encourages an approach to combat discrimination and inequalities in the time of Covid-19, particularly on the following thematic issues: rights and inclusion of left-behind people in the decision-making structures and institutional services; rights of the minorities, women and children rights; cultural rights: promotion of peace, tolerance and cultural diversity in the society and ethnic or local language-based rights education and radio programming.

So far, the programme has provided small grants support to 44 CSOs in 15 districts aiming to enhance their capacity and better engagement in addressing human rights issues. Priority districts for this year are Dhaka, Manikganj, Rajshahi, Dinajpur, Khulna, Satkhira, Barishal, Cox's Bazar, Mymensingh, Moulvibazar and Habiganj.