The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery

Purpose of the Fund

More than 40 million people around the world remain enslaved today. The United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund on Contemporary Forms of Slavery brings relief to those whose human rights have been severely violated as a result of this affront to human dignity, abolished worldwide, but persisting in practice.

By awarding grants to civil society organizations, the Fund ensures that thousands of men, women and children subjected to slavery around the world today receive humanitarian, psychological, social, legal, medical, financial and other assistance.

The UN Slavery Fund is characterized by its victim-centred approach and its universality, its agility and ability to reach remote locations and empower grassroots initiatives. Its impact is felt on the ground, in the everyday lives of victims and survivors on their road to recovery.

As part of the UN anti-slavery framework, the Fund fills a niche of direct relief for victims and of building resilience for survivors and civil society. Through strategic partnerships, the Fund complements and leverages the monitoring, reporting, advocacy and advisory role of other UN mechanisms combatting contemporary forms of slavery.

How the Fund works

The Fund is managed by the United Nations Human Rights Office, with the advice of a Board of Trustees composed of five independent experts. Grants ranging from 15,000 to 30,000 USD are awarded yearly on a competitive basis. A call for proposals is open every year from 15 January to 1 March. The Secretariat of the Fund evaluates applications — including through on-site visits — and reviews grant implementation through the analysis of the narrative, financial and audit reports. The Board meets once a year to determine priorities, review policies and adopt recommendations on grants.

Beneficiaries of the Fund

Since its establishment by the General Assembly in 1991 (resolution 46/122), the UN Slavery Fund has awarded more than 8 million USD to over 400 organizations in more than 100 countries, providing rehabilitation and assistance to thousands of individuals whose human rights have been severely violated as a result of contemporary forms of slavery, including:

• Children in armed conflict
• Debt bondage
• Forced and early marriage
• Forced labour
• Traditional slavery
• Trafficking of persons
• Sale of children
• Sale of wives
• Serfdom
• Sexual slavery
• Widow inheritance
• Worst forms of child labour

The Fund receives voluntary contributions from Governments, private or public entities and individuals.

Who can apply

As a general rule, only applications by civil society organizations are admissible. Applications by governmental, parliamentary or administrative entities, political parties and/or national liberation movements are inadmissible.

The annual call for applications is open every year from 15 January to 1 March (applications submitted after the deadline will not be accepted). Grants are awarded for a one-year period (1 January to 31 December) of the following year for amounts ranging from 15,000 USD to 35,000 USD.

Applications must be submitted in English, French or Spanish.