ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Netherlands on Thursday presented a human rights award to a United States-based organization that monitors lethal conflict within the Kurdistan Region’s borders.
The Dutch Foreign Ministry gave the Human Rights Tulip award to the Community Peacemakers Teams (CPT), highlighting their work as “crucial for the protection of universal human rights.”
The Human Rights Tulip, an annual award established by the Dutch government in 2008, recognizes human rights defenders and supports their efforts around the globe. It also comes with €100,000 to fund their work.
CPT monitors and has published reports on casualties, injuries, and damage to land and property within the Kurdistan Region’s borders as a result of Turkish and Iranian military operations. The organization says their Kurdistan Region team consists of only three people.
“‘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,” the Dutch ministry quoted CPT member Kamaran Osman as saying.
Osman said that the award is about “the people who, despite suffering extraordinary and painful circumstances, continue to resist through nonviolent means back home in Iraqi Kurdistan.”
The Dutch ministry said that supporting human rights defenders is a priority for the Netherlands government.
“Human rights are increasingly under pressure. It requires courage, perseverance and sacrifice to realise change. @cpt_intl in the Kurdistan Region in Iraq is a prime example,” Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp who presented the award to the CPT team, said in a post on X.
