The Dutch government has awarded the 2010 Human Rights Defenders Tulip to Bertha Oliva de Nativi from Honduras, in recognition of her long fight for the rights of relatives of those who disappeared in Honduras between 1979 and 1989.

The independent jury selected her from over 170 nominees. Foreign minister Uri Rosenthal presented her with the award at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday 10 December, International Human Rights Day. "We are very glad that we can support Ms. Olivia's important work with this award" said jury member Rabbi Awraham Soetendorp.

Bertha Oliva is the general coordinator of COFADEH (Comité de Familiares de Detenidos Desaparecidos en Honduras), the Committee of Relatives of Missing Prisoners in Honduras who have disappeared in detention. After the arrest and disappearance of her husband in 1981, she became a symbol of resistance to disappearances throughout Central America.

She set up COFADEH in 1982, along with other women who had lost loved ones. Their aim was to obtain justice and compensation for the families of 184 dissidents who disappeared without a trace between 1979 and 1989.

In its report, the jury stressed that the award was in recognition of Bertha Oliva’s tireless quest over many years to establish the truth concerning her husband's death and the fate of other disappeared persons.

The Dutch government has been awarding the Human Rights Defenders Tulip since 2008 to a man or woman who has shown exceptional courage in protecting and promoting the rights of others. Oliva and the women who work with her have been intimidated and threatened ever since their search began.

Bertha Oliva will receive a bronze sculpture of the Human Rights Tulip and a personal prize of €10,000. She may moreover submit a proposal for a project to the value of €100,000 that will further her work as a human rights defender.

Read more on the Human Rights Defenders Tulip Homepage.