The 2026 Kavien’s Justice Award, presented in collaboration with Leiden University College (LUC) Den Haag, was awarded to Daphné Gelot’s thesis during the graduation ceremony on Friday, July 3.

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Kavien’s Justice Foundation honors the memory of former LUC Den Haag student Kavien Begikhani, who devoted his life to peace and justice, particularly for the cause of the Kurdistani people. He died in November 2021 at the age of 27.

“ Many of you may know that Kavien was a student at LUC,” Kavien’s mother, Awaz Hamma Begikhani, said. “He was bright, thoughtful, and deeply committed to his principles. He was acutely aware of the injustice and understood from personal and family experience the challenges faced by the people of Kurdistan and around the world.

“As an activist, he gave voice to these concerns and wrote about justice and human dignity. Kavien did not have the opportunity to realize all his dreams and ambitions. This award was established to honor his memory and to continue his legacy. Through it, we seek to support outstanding students who are committed to making the world a better place.

“I would like to thank everyone who helped build our foundation, especially our partner organization, the Founder and Chair of the Kurdistan Center for Arts, and its founder and chair, Barav Barzani, for his great support,” she concluded.

Simon Minks, Senior Advocate General in The Hague, presented the award on behalf of the jury.

“According to the jury report, they have distinguished themselves through exceptional work that reflects rigorous scholarly foundations, intellectual depth, and a sophisticated engagement with thematic ideas that closely align with the Kavien’s Justice Award aims, values, and principles,” said Minks.

Gelot’s thesis involved a study conducted at the Armée du Salut’s Ramponeau site in Paris using participant observation, interviews, and document analysis, and found that neutrality is not a stable organizational position.

“Their contributions demonstrate both academic excellence and a meaningful application of the concepts at the heart of Kavien Justice Awards mission. Therefore, it was not easy to choose a winner,” Minks said. “The winning thesis focuses on the complex relationship between humanitarian action, structural injustice, and migration that strongly resonates with Kavien’s legacy.”

“I feel very proud and honored to have received this prize,” Gelot said after winning the award. “I think it is an emotionally loaded prize. I’m extremely grateful and honored that my thesis resonated with the jury and the board. And I am glad that it represents Kavien’s  mission and Kavien’s social values, so I feel extremely happy and very proud.”

LUC administrator Mirjam Brand said that the LUC endorses Kavien’s Justice Award “because it’s so much in line with the heart and the spirit of Kavien, and that’s also the heart and the spirit of the Kavien Justice Foundation.

“Fighting for human rights, going against oppression, the whole idea of global sustainability, looking into all sorts of global challenges and general justice for all people, that is what LUC stands for,” she said.