This video captures the moment Mexican human rights activist Graciela Pérez Rodriguez officially received the 2017 Human Rights Tulip from the Dutch Minister for Foreign Affairs Halbe Zijlstra. The Human Rights Tulip is awarded every year by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to recognise and encourage individuals or organisations anywhere in the world who are using innovative ways to advance the course of justice.
Graciela Pérez Rodriguez received this year’s award for her tireless work as an advocate for the families of Mexico’s “desaparecido” or disappeared, many claimed by the country’s decade-long war on drugs. Official estimates put the number of disappeared at 28,000 but activists, citing years of vicious drug wars, say the real figure is likely much higher.