Dutch MEP Sophie in ’t Veld was awarded the International Humanist Award in the Norwegian capital Oslo on Saturday. The prize is awarded by the International Humanist and Ethical Union, an organisation dedicated to spreading humanist ideas.

Ms In ’t Veld, a member of the democrat party D66, was awarded the prize for her fight for gay and women’s rights, as well as for creating the European Parliament Platform for Secularism in Politics, on which she takes a stance for a clear separation between church and state.

This is not the first award the D66 politician has received for her work as an international politician. Earlier this year in the UK, she was proclaimed 'Secularist of the year 2011'.

Previous recipients of the International Humanist Award include Russian dissident and nuclear scientist Andrei Sakharov, Slovak politician Alexander Dubcek and Dutch euthanasia activist Pieter Admiraal.

Sophie In 't Veld said being awarded the prize "gives me the energy to work even harder and bring human rights to the attention of an even wider audience.”

The D66 politician says that after half a century, the European Union increasingly finds itself debating ethical issues such as abortion, stem cell research and gay rights.

“It is exactly in this type of fierce debate that the secular point of view needs a clear voice. The problem is that secular citizens are hardly organised, while conservative religious groups are quite successful in focusing media attention on their ideas.”

(gsh/imm)

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