Litigation Grants (2009)

• American Civil Liberties Union Foundation Inc.

  To advocate in the US for the closure of the Guantánamo Bay detention centre and to end the use of military commissions and/or improve their due process protections. The foundation opposes the creation of a preventive detention regime and seeks accountability for acts of torture committed by US personnel and their agents, including through information disclosure. USD 2,000,000

• Bulgarian Helsinki Committee

  To improve the legislative and policy frameworks for the protection of human rights in Bulgaria. Particular focus will be on the themes of liberty and security, excessive use of force in detention settings and in policing, discrimination, and the rights of institutionalised children. This will be achieved through monitoring, targeted litigation (domestic and international), lobbying for legislative reform; media advocacy and publishing of reports; international advocacy, and the building of coalitions and partnerships. USD 431,250 (Over three years)

• Death Penalty Project Ltd

  To protect the human rights of individuals facing the death penalty worldwide. Particular focus is on: common law jurisdictions (excluding the US) by seeking to restrict the use of the death penalty in line with minimum international standards; providing effective legal representation and assistance for those facing the death penalty and thereby prevent miscarriages of justice; and by raising awareness about the death penalty among lawyers, judges and governments. USD 621,000 (Over three years)

• European Human Rights Advocacy Centre

  To seek improved protection of human rights in Russia and neighbouring countries, in particular for disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture, deportations and inhumaine prison conditions through the pursuit of up to 300 cases before the European Court of Human Rights. To engage in related advocacy and public awareness work and to train up to 300 Russian, Georgian and Azerbaijani lawyers on European Court procedure. USD 429,750 (Over two years)

• Freedom of Information Foundation

  To operationalise the new Russian Freedom of Information Law by engaging in extensive public and professional outreach to explain the freedom of information law and to encourage information requests. The foundation conducts litigation when certain information requests have been refused, and monitors government agencies’ websites for compliance with disclosure obligations. USD 121,045 (Over two years)

• International Legal Foundation

  To provide legal defence for indigent criminal defendants, principally in pre-trial detention and in post-conflict societies, specifically Afghanistan and Nepal. To enable the foundation to professionalise its management and programme functions and increase its advocacy work in promoting the role of criminal defence in the justice reconstruction sector. USD 674,884 (Over three years)

• Proteus Action League

  To support the grant-making of the Proteus National Security Human Rights Pooled Fund with a focus on upgrading the communications capacity of US human rights groups to develop messages that argue more effectively that human rights must underpin counter-terrorism efforts. Moreover, the project seeks to facilitate networking to ensure consistent and rapid across-the-board messaging and to provide training on communications effectiveness. USD 400,000

• Public Verdict Foundation

  To provide general support for legal redress and confidential, professional psychological counselling for victims of police violence in Russia; to undertake policy analysis and issue recommendations aimed at ending police violence; and to generate improvements in the investigation and prosecution of police abuse cases. The Foundation also engages in public awareness campaigns on arbitrary and violent law enforcement practises, and cooperates with regional NGOs to provide legal and psychological support to victims of police violence and to campaign for safe policing in their communities. USD 232,607 (Over two years)

• Reprieve

  To pursue in the US the habeas petitions of 33 detainees currently in Guantánamo Bay and to secure, where appropriate, their repatriation or resettlement. To investigate the fate of those who have been detained and have disappeared in US counter terrorism efforts around the world; to investigate, expose and seek accountability for alleged UK collusion in disappearances and extraordinary rendition. USD 375,000 (Over two years)

< International Human Rights Programme