Community Peacemaker Teams Iraqi Kurdistan (CPT-IK) won the prestigious Human Rights Tulip annual award, presented by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in The Hague, Netherlands, on December 12, 2024.
Foreign Affairs Minister Caspar Veldkamp presented the award, recognizing the team’s significant contributions to advancing, protecting, and raising awareness of human rights. In presenting the award to Kamaran Osman, who represented the team at the ceremony, the Minister stated, “CPT Iraqi Kurdistan has empowered countless individuals by teaching them conflict resolution, reconciliation, and by providing a much-needed alternative narrative to the world. Because of your work, human rights will prevail.”
CPT-IK was nominated alongside four other exceptional candidates: 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), who are all advancing human rights globally.
Upon receiving the award, CPT-IK team member Osman expressed, “This award not only recognizes the work of Community Peacemaker Teams – Iraqi Kurdistan but also honours the people who, despite enduring extraordinary suffering, continue to resist nonviolently in Iraqi Kurdistan. This award reflects our collective commitment to human rights, and we are deeply honoured to receive it. However, let this award not merely be seen as recognition of past achievements but as a call to action.”
About the Award
The Human Rights Tulip is an annual award presented by the Dutch government to support human rights defenders worldwide in their efforts to advance and protect human rights. Since 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has annually awarded the Human Rights Tulip to an outstanding human rights defender.
