NGOs are in the running for grants from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) in the fifth round of funding..!!!

UN Democracy Fund: Lankans in the fray for newest grants
March 29, 2011, 9:52 pm



By Shamindra Ferdinando



Several Sri Lankan NGOs are in the running for grants from the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) in the fifth round of funding. The recipients are expected to be announced mid 2011 by the UNDEF. It is not clear whether any of the NGOs under investigation for alleged irregularities are among those vying for more grants.



According to the UNDEF, a record 3,700 applications had been received by Dec. 31. 2010 deadline and were in the process of being studied. The number of applications received for the latest round was the highest since the launch of the project in 2005, the UNDEF said. The UNDEF estimated the increase at 200 per cent when compared with the previous year.



Sources said that in spite of a Sri Lanka NGO being successful only once in the previous three rounds, many organizations had applied for grants this year. Saviya Development Foundation received $ 225,000 to promote democracy a few years ago.



Funds are made available for projects promoting rule of law and human rights, media, community development, youth, women and democratization.



UNDEF is funded through voluntary contributions by Member States. Established by the Secretary-General in 2005 as a Trust Fund under the UN Financial Rules and Regulations, cumulative contributions so far have surpassed $110,000,000.



Sources said that as much as $ 500,000 could be obtained by one NGO to carry out a two-year project. Government sources told The Island that due to the conclusion of war in May 2009, those who had been in lucrative business of promoting peace would now have to increase their presence in other fields such as rule of law and human rights and media.



Sources said that 200 per cent increase in the number of applications for the latest round meant the global expansion of the NGO industry.



Number of Lankans seeking asylum drops



With the end of the war the number of Sri Lankans seeking asylum in the industrialized world has seen a considerable drop though the country still remains in the top 10 source countries.



A report by the UNHCR released yesterday saw less Sri Lankans seeking asylum in Australia and Europe last year as compared to a year earlier.



The Australian media quoted a spokesman for the Australian Immigration Minister Chris Bowen as saying the number of Sri Lankans arriving in Australia has fallen as a result of improvements in circumstances in northern Sri Lanka and not as a result of changes in domestic Australian policy.



There were no comments to the report from other countries where Sri Lankans had sought asylum over the years, particularly during the conflict.



Unveiling the report, High Commissioner António Guterres said the global dynamics of asylum had changed in recent years.



"We need to study the root causes to see if the decline is because of fewer push factors in areas of origin, or tighter migration control in countries of asylum," Mr. Guterres said.



Serbia – including Kosovo – provided the biggest number of asylum-seekers in 2010, with 28,900 claims lodged, compared to only 18,800 the previous year.



The other leading countries of origin of asylum-seekers were, in order: Afghanistan, China, Iraq, Russia, Somalia, Iran, Pakistan, Nigeria and Sri Lanka.



Guterres noted that the developing world is still "carrying the lion’s share of responsibility for hosting refugees," with countries such as Liberia and Tunisia playing host to asylum-seekers despite their own problems and challenges.

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