Geneva, 11 October 2022 (TDI): Germany’s former Federal Chancellor, Dr. Angela Merkel, received the 2022 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award on Monday night at a special ceremony in Geneva.
Upon accepting the award, she remarked that it was in honor of “the countless people who lent a hand” when massive numbers of refugees turned up in Europe in 2015 and 2016.
The prize selection committee is of the view that Angela Merkel, winner of this year’s award, had been the driving force behind Germany’s efforts to receive and integrate refugees.
Angela Merkel received this award for providing a haven for more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence and persecution in Syria.
While announcing the award, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi remarked that Merkel displayed great moral and political courage by helping more than a million refugees survive and rebuild their lives.
The award selection committee has honored four more regional winners alongside Angela Merkel. It includes an all-volunteer refugee firefighting group in Mauritania in West Africa and a refugee support cacao cooperative in Costa Rica in the Americas.
In addition, it includes a humanitarian organization in Meikse Myanmar that assists internally displaced people among others in Asia and the Pacific. An Iraqi gynecologist who provides medical and psychological care to Yazidi girls and women in the Middle East and North Africa also received the award.
For the winner, the award carries a cash prize of US$ 150,000 to invest in their humanitarian work.
UNHCR Nansen Refugee award
UNHCR annual award was founded in 1954 to celebrate Fridtjof Nansen, the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian after whom the award is named.
The award honors individuals, groups, and organizations who go above and beyond the call of duty to protect refugees and displaced and stateless people.
Moreover, the annual award brings widespread recognition to an array of laureates. It honors those working to protect and assist refugees, internally displaced, and stateless people.
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