You also can be a part of it!
The purpose of the award is to recognize the work of diplomats accredited in Cuba whose performance has been characterized by providing recognition, support and encouragement to Cuban democratic actors and their efforts in the defense of human rights and political pluralism.
The ceremony was opened by Dirk-Jan Vermeij, on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and then, Gabriel Salvia, presented a video on the seventh edition of the "Award for diplomacy committed to human rights in Cuba".
Carolina Barrero, a Cuban activist forced into exile, spoke about Bastiaan Engelhard's work during his mission in Cuba.
After receiving the plaque from the Cuban activist, the diplomat from the Netherlands, Bastiaan Engelhard, gave the closing remarks.
Dirk-Jan Vermeij, Gabriel Salvia, Bastiaan Engelhard, Carolina Barrero and Bahia Tahzib-Lie.
Caecilia Wijgers and Bastiaan Engelhard, the two diplomats from the Netherlands awarded for their work in Cuba, 2009-2010 and 2019-2021, respectively, together with Carolina Barrero and Gabriel Salvia.
Cuban activist Carolina Barrero and Bahia Tahzib-Lie, Human Rights Ambassador of the Netherlands.
Bastiaan Engelhard holds a master's degree in International Economics and Economic Geography. Between 2017 and 2022 he was Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Havana. He previously held diplomatic functions in Mozambique, Brazil and Central America. He also worked as a political counsellor at the Delegation of the European Union in Guatemala.
Bastiaan is the second diplomat from the Netherlands to receive this award. In its second edition, 2009-2010, it was awarded to Caecilia Wijgers together with a colleague from Sweden, Ingemar Cederberg, and another from Germany, Volker Pellet. In its seventh editions, between 2003 and 2021, 15 diplomats were awarded for their work committed to human rights in Cuba, one of them anonymously. CADAL also awarded the Chilean diplomat and writer Jorge Edwards, author of the best seller "Persona Non Grata", for his pioneering work in providing support and recognition to dissident intellectuals in the early years of the Cuban revolution.
