Winner of the Human Rights Tulip for 2024: Community Peacemaker Teams

News item | 12-12-2024 | 19:14

Enlarge image

The Human Rights Tulip

The Human Rights Tulip is an annual award presented by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to a human rights defender to support them in their work advancing, protecting and raising awareness about human rights around the world. The winner of the Human Rights Tulip receives a bronze tulip sculpture and €100,000 – money that the winner can use to continue and expand their human rights work.

Community Peacemaker Teams’ work in Iraqi Kurdistan

Enlarge image

Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan (CPT-IK) supports people in conflict areas and works with local communities affected by violence, injustice or repression. As a human rights organisation, CPT-IK speaks out about military activities in the Kurdistan Region and promotes nonviolent methods of conflict resolution and peacebuilding. CPT-IK’s work rests on a foundation of reliable data, which it believes is necessary for honest dialogue on sensitive issues.

Although the team consists of only three people, it has proved capable of documenting and verifying a great number of human rights violations – thanks to an extensive network of reliable partners.

Kamaran Othman of CPT: ‘How, with only three people, can you collect all this information? The answer is simple: We have tea with people. A lot of tea. This is how we can collect data, amplify the voices of the unheard and gain support for our work.’

CPT advocates for victims of military violence in the Kurdistan Region by supporting displaced families, reporting damage caused by military attacks and fighting for compensation and protection for civilian victims. CPT-IK also helps journalists and activists working nonviolently to give people better lives.

The prize money will enable the organisation to further expand its efforts to promote peace, security and justice in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Kamaran Othman of CPT: ‘This award is not just about recognising the work of Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan but about the people who, despite suffering extraordinary and painful circumstances, continue to resist through nonviolent means back home in Iraqi Kurdistan.’

Other nominees

This year four other candidates were nominated for the Human Rights Tulip as well: Wilker Dias (a human rights defender in Mozambique), Stella Maris Martínez (Chief Public Defender of Argentina), Vasile Micleusanu (an LGBTIQ+ human rights defender in Moldova) and Blert Morina (an LGBTIQ+ activist in Kosovo).

Enlarge image