UN VOLUNTARY FUND FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE

Select Select

UN VOLUNTARY FUND FOR VICTIMS OF TORTURE

Thank you for your interest in the emergency grants funding stream. Please note that the Fund will only be accepting emergency grants for applications through the Special Call for Sudan.

The UN Voluntary Fund for Victims of Torture offers emergency funding to provide direct assistance to the victims of torture in exceptional circumstances.

Who can apply

As a general rule, only applications by civil society organizations, directly assisting torture survivors in exceptional circumstances to access legal, medical, psychological, social and humanitarian assistance are admissible.

Applications by governmental, parliamentary or administrative entities, political parties and/or national liberation movements are inadmissible.

When to apply

Applications for emergency grants can be submitted only for Sudan.

Special calls

The Fund may also issue special calls for emergency grant applications to respond to a surge in torture victims’ needs during a specific crisis and open for determined period. 

Sudan 2026

The Call for applications is now closed. Evaluations of applications already submitted are currently underway.   

Past calls
  • Syria (2025): The call for applications is now closed. Fourteen organizations were awarded emergency grants. Project implementation is currently underway (See Flyer)   
  • COVID-19 pandemic (2020)
  • Rohingya refugee crisis (2018)
  • Civil war in Syria (2015), crisis in Mali (2013) and aftermath of the Arab Spring (2012)

Amount and duration

The Fund awards emergency grants for amounts between 20,000 USD and 50,000 USD for a duration of 12 months.

Languages

Applications must be submitted in English, French or Spanish.

Emergency funding criteria

The Fund considers emergency grant applications eligible only if they respond to the following emergency rationale:

  • Sudden change in circumstances that has caused an
  • Extraordinary increase (surge) in the needs of torture survivors for assistance requiring an
  • Immediate response.

Emergency grants respond, for example, to the following:

Human rights crisis
  • political strife or uprising
  • landmark trial (torture survivors requiring additional assistance)
  • detrimental policy or institutional change in places of deprivation of liberty
Humanitarian crisis
  • armed conflict
  • sudden influx of refugees, asylum-seekers, internally displaced people or migrants

Emergency grants do not respond, for example, to the following:

  • existing and systemic patterns of torture
  • cashflow difficulties of the organization

How to apply

Applications must be submitted through an online Grants Management System (GMS), selecting the emergency tab (see User’s Manual  for more details). First-time applicant must first register in GMS to access the online application form.

*Secretariat:  ohchr-unvfvt-emergency@un.org

Reference documents

For more detailed information about how to apply for an emergency grant, interested organizations are invited to refer to the:

Tags

VIEW THIS PAGE IN: