The Dutch Human Rights Defenders Tulip, an award with which the Netherlands honours and publicises the work of human rights defenders the world over, has now been officially registered. Each year the bronze tulip sculpture is presented to a human rights defender who has shown exceptional moral courage.

On Thursday foreign minister Maxime Verhagen handed out tulip bulbs to travellers at The Hague Central Station. More bulbs will be handed out at various locations in the Netherlands over the next few days.

‘These simple bulbs represent human rights defenders: if we cherish them, they will be the source of great things,’ Mr Verhagen said. ‘These very courageous people deserve our support.’

The yellow tulip has been registered in the International Register of Tulip Names as Tulipa Human Rights. Mr Verhagen will be presenting the 2009 Human Rights Defenders Tulip to the Iranian journalist and lawyer Shadi Sadr in the Ridderzaal in The Hague on Monday 9 November.

Ms Sadr is just one of countless human rights defenders working to protect the rights of their fellow citizens. Almost every country in the world has acceded to human rights conventions. But it is often still necessary to fight for those rights. This can require immense courage, as human rights defenders’ work is often met with opposition and violence.

Ms Sadr has previously been banned from leaving her country and had her office closed down. Her phone has been tapped, she has received threats, and she has been arrested and imprisoned on two occasions, simply for standing up for the human dignity of her fellow Iranians.



Comments/Questions? Email netherlands@un.int