Afghan human rights advocate Mohammad Hassan Hakimy has been awarded the 2018 Human Rights Tulip Afghanistan in a ceremony organized at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kabul.

AVA- Celebrating International Human Rights Day, the embassy in a statement on Monday said that the winner was chosen by the jury, consisting of Nader Naderi (Independent Administrative Reform Commission), Ruby Ajanee (Oxfam), Ingrid Hayden (Deputy SRSG UN) and Farahnaz Forotan (TOLO News).
Hakimy works in Ghor province and forms a “role model for other youngsters in Afghanistan”. He is especially focusing on the promotion of human rights and advocates for women’s rights and the rights of children.
 For more than a decade he has been working towards inclusive peace, freedom of expression and youth empowerment.
 Through his work, Hakimy has been able to report on human rights issues and violations from Ghor province to relevant authorities in Kabul, and put human rights on the agenda of national politicians.
The statement noted that the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Kabul honors those who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to choose their leaders, and those who stand up to be protected against human rights abuses.
” We praise the brave men and women in Afghanistan who work to defend human dignity and advance the cause of peace and freedom,” it said.
Hakimy was picked among four nominees for the 2018 Human Rights Tulip Afghanistan award who showed courage, resilience, and willingness to fight for their fundamental human rights.
 The four nominees were Shah Marai (posthumous), Tahmina Arian, Mohammad Hassan Hakimy and Zaker Sadid.
Hakimy currently serves as an elected representative of the National Union of Journalists of Afghanistan as well as the head of the Ghor branch of the Independent Journalists’ Organization of Afghanistan and Executive Director of the Afghanistan Youth National Development and Social Organization (AYNDSO).
At the same time, he is editor of the 21 monthly magazine and focal point of human rights issues within the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR).
According to the statement, the price for the winner consists of a cheque worth EUR 5.000,- to invest in further human rights-related work and a potential 3-day Visitors Programme to The Hague, Netherlands, to meet other Local Human Rights Tulip winners from all over the world.