Who can apply for the Shelter City initiative?
The Shelter City programme is open for applications twice a year, in May and November.
In order to be elegible for Shelter City, human rights defenders should meet the following conditions:
- They implement a non-violent approach in their work;
- They are threatened or otherwise under pressure due to their work;
- They should be able to be relocated for a period of maximum 3 months. Limited spots are available for people who are not able to stay for the full 3 months;
- They are willing and able to return to their country of origin after 3 months;
- They are willing to speak publicly about their experience or about human rights in their country to the extent that their security situation allows;
- They have a conversational level* of English (limited spots are available for French or Spanish speaking human rights defenders);
- They are willing and able to come to The Netherlands without accompaniment of family members;
- They have a valid passport (with no less than six months of validity) or be willing to carry out the procedures for its issuance. Justice and Peace covers the costs of issuing a passport and / or visa (if applicable);
- They are not subjected to any measure or judicial prohibition of leaving the country;
- They are willing to begin their stay in The Netherlands during the mentioned time in the call for applications.
*By conversational English we mean that participants’ level of English allows them to actively participate in a training, speak about their work, communicate with the host city, etc.
Note that additional factors will be taken into consideration in the final round of selection, such as the added value of a stay in The Netherlands as well as gender, geographic, and thematic balance. Please note that we can only accept human rights defenders currently residing in a third country under exceptional circumstances.