OpportunityTitle: Forensic Assistance Programs in AF, EAP, and SCA
CategoryExplanation: Forensic Assistance Programs in AF, EAP, and SCA
AdditionalInformationOnEligibility: A public international organization or similarly-situated institution
Description: SUMMARYThe Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor announces an open competition for assistance awards. DRL requests proposals from non-profit and international organizations interested in a grant award for projects in Africa, East Asia, and South Central Asia. Africa: Democratic Republic of the CongoBackground: More than a decade of conflict and lawlessness in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has resulted in an estimated death toll of more than 5 million persons and thousands of rapes. While some of these deaths were indirect results of the conflict (due to the destruction of hospitals and infrastructure and the spread of disease), many deaths and rapes were direct results of attacks by various parties to the ongoing conflict. Investigators continue to find mass graves and razed villages where scores of dead bodies are strewn about, such as in the North Kivu village of Kiwanja in November 2008. Fighting in eastern Congo continues, along with the rape and killing of significant numbers of civilians by various parties to the conflict, all of whom enjoy impunity. Skeletal and other remains of the victims of killings and disappearances have not been identified, due in part to the high cost of DNA extraction and analysis, the extremely limited resources and capacity of local authorities, and a weak judiciary. Major technological improvements since 2001 have increased the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of processing large amounts of genetic material. The use of forensic-genetic techniques to help police and Congolese NGOs immediately gather and preserve evidence of rape and identify the physical remains of murder victims could begin the process of bringing about closure for victims&#146; families and provide physical evidence for developing legal actions against alleged perpetrators, thereby supporting respect for the rule of law, reconciliation for past crimes, and justice for society as a whole. Proposals will outline program concepts and capacity to manage projects that will: 1) support the collection and preservation of rape evidence and/or 2) facilitate the identification of remains. Proposals must specifically address at least one of the following topics: &#149; Lab establishment or renovation and technical training, including limited potential training abroad, to increase scientific capacity, experience, and processing capability in forensic anthropology to identify victims&#146; remains&#149; Increased sample collection through exhumation of additional remains and dissemination of information to populations about program availability to encourage DNA donation&#149; Creation of databases of family reference samples and of human skeletal remains to facilitate matching&#149; Campaigns to preserve evidence from victims of rape, including the distribution of rape kits , and the collection and preservation of evidence for use in possible prosecutions against perpetrators of rape (even if rape victims initially decide not to report the rape to authorities, the evidence will remain preserved for possible later use) &#149; Provision of legal and psychological support to victims and/or their families&#149; Public outreach/advocacy&#149; Creation of an information-sharing network among Congolese NGOs &#150; as well as between Congolese NGOs, on the one hand, and other key stakeholders, such as international NGOs and judicial and law enforcement authorities, on the other hand &#150; in order to strengthen program productivity, efficacy, resources, and sustainability East Asia and the Pacific: VietnamBackground: For the past decade, Vietnam has systematically attempted to locate and identify their dead and missing in action from past conflicts. While the focus has been on bringing home those lost in Cambodia and Laos, efforts have also occurred in Vietnam, on an ad hoc basis. Vietnam has a nascent capacity to locate, excavate, and identify remains, developed through exposure to U.S. excavation and identification techniques during multiple, annual combined U.S./Vietnam MIA recovery operations involving the U.S. Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Command (JPAC). But Vietnam&#146;s capacity to account for its own missing, including from their conflict with the United States, remains weak. While the exact number of successful excavations by Vietnam is unknown, tens of thousands of sets of remains have been interned in cemeteries. Most remain unidentified unless they were recovered with identification documents. Existing Vietnamese excavation teams are comprised mainly of military personnel, with limited or no anthropologists or archeologists accompanying them. The primary forensics office, The People&apos;s Army of Vietnam Pathology Institute, recently developed a limited DNA identification capability in an attempt to broaden and advance its identification procedures. Identifying the dead and missing in action from past conflicts facilitates closure for the families, contributes to Vietnam&#146;s ability to put its painful past to rest and, through the goodwill it creates, may help advance effort to fully account for America&#146;s remaining missing military personnel. Proposals will outline program concepts and capacity to manage projects that will support the identification of remains and increase the capacity of Vietnam to conduct robust excavation and identification operations, including training or the provision of anthropological and archeological expertise. Proposals must address at least one of the following topics: &#149; Training, including limited potential training abroad, to increase scientific capacity and expertise of anthropologists and archaeologists accompanying military excavation teams&#149; Laboratory renovation and technical training, including limited potential training abroad, to increase scientific capacity, experience, and processing capability in forensic anthropology&#149; Increased sample collection through exhumation of additional remains and dissemination of information to populations about program availability to encourage DNA donation&#149; Creation of databases of family reference samples and of human skeletal remains to facilitate matching South and Central Asia: Afghanistan, Nepal, and UzbekistanAfghanistan:&#149; Provision of legal and psychological support to victims&#146; families;&#149; Creation of an information-sharing network among the NGOs to strengthen program productivity, efficacy, resources, and sustainability. Nepal:&#149; Proposals will outline program concepts and capacity to manage projects that will support the identification of remains and increase the capacity of local NGOs to conduct timely and reliable DNA testing. Proposals must address at least one of the following topics: o Lab renovation and technical training, including limited potential training abroad, to increase scientific capacity, experience, and processing capability in forensic anthropologyo Increased sample collection through exhumation of additional remains and dissemination of information to populations about program availability to encourage DNA donationo Creation of databases of family reference samples and of human skeletal remains to facilitate matching o Projects may also include support to families of victims and missing persons. Activities may include legal and psychological support to families.Uzbekistan:&#149; Lab renovation and technical training, including limited potential training abroad, to increase scientific capacity, experience, and processing capability in forensic anthropology.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: oatesml@state.gov
GrantorContactText: Megan Oates &lt;br/&gt;Program Officer &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-261-8030