Deadline: 16-Jan-23

The UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation (UNSCAR) Call for Proposals is now open for applications.

UNSCAR is a flexible multi-donor, quick-impact, theme-focused, United Nations-managed fund supporting arms regulation.

UNSCAR aims to:

• Mobilize resources to support the ratification/accession and implementation of relevant international instruments on arms regulations;
• Improve effectiveness of assistance through coordination, monitoring and matching of resources;
• Promote increased sustainability through more predictable sources of funding.

Priorities

• Priority will be given to projects which include one or more of the following thematic priorities:
  • Support the universalisation and/or effective implementation of relevant global instruments on arms regulation;
  • Explore and establish synergies between international and regional instruments on arms regulation; particularly, activities in support of:
  • African Union’s initiative ‘Silencing the Guns in Africa’;
  • Small arms control in the Western Balkans;
  • Small arms control in the Pacific;
  • Supplementary support for regional initiatives, including development of regional roadmaps;
  • The implementation of regional mechanisms/instruments applicable to ammunition management.
  • Support activities of Civil Society Organizations.
  • Develop and implement national action plans, national/regional targets and indicators in support of the implementation of the Programme of Action and the SDGs5;
  • Promote transparency instruments, including on matters related to international arms transfers and military expenditures;
  • Promote implementation of Security Council resolutions on ‘women, peace and security’

Funding Information

• UNSCAR encourages the submission of small-scale projects.
• Category 1: a cap of $100,000 per project applies for project proposals, of which activities pertain to, e.g.:
  • Catalysing national legislative process;
  • Supporting governments’ decision-making processes;
  • Undertaking action-oriented research, study, IT development;
  • Organizing meetings, workshops, and public awareness campaigns.
• Category 2: a cap of $150,000 per project applies for project proposals, of which activities focus on field Operations in the area of:
  • Physical Security and Stockpile Management (PSSM),
  • Weapons marking,
  • Weapons tracing, or
  • Weapons destruction,
  • And require high costs (e.g. $50,000) for procurement of machines, equipment, hardware (as assets of the project), construction and/or field operations9.

Eligibility Criteria

• Eligible organizations
  • Non-Governmental Organizations / Research institutes
  • United Nations system partners4
  • Regional organizations
  • Member States wishing to benefit from UNSCAR-funded projects should work with one of the aforementioned eligible organizations to design a project proposal. An application may be submitted under the name of such an eligible organization, indicating “[NGO/UN/RO name] on behalf of the Government of [country name or the national small arms commission/authority of [country name].” Submission of a relevant national report that indicates applicable national need and/or requests (i.e. PoA national report) is required.
  • An organization must be registered, have a legal status (e.g. registered as a non-profit organization), and own a bank account under its name to apply for UNSCAR funds. An arrangement involving a so-called ‘financial agent’ is not possible.
  • Projects involving multiple implementing organizations are considered. Application should be submitted under the name of one eligible organization per application, who will take sole and full responsibility for project management and contractual obligations. Partner organizations should be listed in the application form in a relevant box. All partners listed should be in agreement with being mentioned in the application.
  • An eligible organization may submit one or more applications.
  • Projects that are not necessarily implemented by a Western-based partner (e.g. South-South cooperation) are considered.
• Official Development Assistance (ODA) eligibility
  • UNSCAR has been increasingly conditioned to finance ODA-eligible activities and aims to retain 70-80% ODA eligibility annually. In the application form, applicants are requested to provide information on ODA eligibility of proposed activities:
  • Applications of ODA-eligible activities are encouraged, yet UNSCAR is not limited to funding only ODA-eligible projects.

For more information, visit UNSCAR.