Agile Human Rights Organisations for a democratic constituency in the Arab Region

From March 2017 to June 2018, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs financed the project “Agile Human Rights Organizations for a Democratic Constituency in the Arab Region” carried out by the NGO Karama. Karama is a network of organizations and focuses its activities on the promotion of equal rights for women in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, with the aim of women’s participation in (political) decision-making processes that affect them. Karama is based in Cairo, Egypt with an office in The Hague, the Netherlands. The project was financed through the Dutch Human Rights Fund based on an amendment to the budget requested by Dutch Parliament. The grant amount was EUR 1.45 million. During the annual human rights debate in Dutch Parliament of November 2018, several Members of Parliament pleaded for renewed financial support to Karama. The Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Blok has indicated that the project must first be properly evaluated. Hence, the need for an independent substantive assessment of this project. The purpose of this project evaluation is to account for the subsidy spent on the Karama project through the Dutch Human Rights Fund. The central question under investigation is: What can be concluded from the ‘Agile Human Rights Organization’ project carried out by Karama over the period February 2017 up to June 2018, in terms of effectiveness, efficiency, relevance and sustainability based on the original project proposal and the subsequent implementation of the project? The final responsibility for the evaluation lies with the Director of the Multilateral Organisations and Human Rights Department (DMM) of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.