Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wins UN Refugee Award 2022
On October 04, 2022, The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) awarded the former German Chancellor Angela
Merkel with the UNHCR 'Nansen' Refugee Award 2022 for her 'moral and political courage' during the refugee crisis in Syria.
She has been chosen for her leadership, courage, and compassion, helping to ensure the protection of millions of desperate asylum seekers. Merkel will be honored with the award on October 10, 2022, in Geneva.
Under the leadership of former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Germany hosted more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers in 2015 and 2016. These refugees had reached Germany to save lives from violent conflict in Syria and other places.
UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award
diplomatic, and human welfare work. This award is awarded to an individual, group or organization that has made efforts to protect refugees, displaced and homeless people.
Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel Wins UN Refugee Award 2022
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has announced that the former German chancellor Angela Merkel is the recipient of the 2022 Nansen Refugee Award, the highest honor given by the agency to individuals or groups who have shown outstanding dedication and service to refugees, internally displaced people, and stateless people.
Merkel was chosen for her "political courage and decisive action" in welcoming more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers, mostly from Syria, into Germany during the peak of the Syrian crisis in 2015 and 2016. At a time when many countries were closing their borders or limiting their intake of refugees, Merkel opened Germany's doors and urged her fellow citizens to embrace a humanitarian and compassionate approach.
She famously declared "Wir schaffen das" ("We can do this") and called on Germans to reject divisive nationalism and xenophobia. She also advocated for a common European response to the refugee situation and for more support to countries hosting large numbers of refugees.
UNHCR chief Filippo Grandi praised Merkel for her "great moral and political courage" and for standing up for human rights, humanitarian principles, and international law. He said that she showed "true leadership" and "appealed to our common humanity".
Merkel is the first former head of state or government to receive the Nansen Refugee Award, which was established in 1954 in honor of Fridtjof Nansen, a Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian who served as the first High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations.
The award ceremony will take place on October 18 in Geneva, Switzerland, where Merkel will receive a medal and a prize of $150,000. The prize money will be donated to a cause of her choice that supports refugees or displaced people.
Merkel, who stepped down as chancellor in 2021 after 16 years in power, said that she was "deeply honored" by the award and that she accepted it on behalf of all those who helped refugees in Germany and around the world.
She said that she was "moved by the resilience and courage" of the refugees she met and that she hoped that her actions would inspire others to show solidarity and empathy to those in need.
