Angela Merkel to receive UN refugee award

GENEVA. KAZINFORM The UN refugee agency announced Tuesday that Angela Merkel, the former German chancellor, will receive the 2022 Nansen Refugee Award for aiding people fleeing the war in Syria, Anadolu Agency reports.

The award is named after the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat, and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen.

«By helping more than a million refugees to survive and rebuild, Angela Merkel displayed great moral and political courage,» said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in a statement.

He praised Merkel’s determination to protect asylum seekers and to stand up for human rights, humanitarian principles and international law.

«She showed what can be achieved when politicians take the right course of action and work to find solutions to the world’s challenges rather than simply shift responsibility to others,» said Grandi.

Merkel will receive the award in Geneva on Oct. 10 at a Geneva ceremony along with regional prize winners, UNHCR spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters in Geneva.

The award, accompanied by $150,000, is given to an individual, group, or organization going beyond the call of duty to protect refugees, internally displaced or stateless people.

Photo:news.un.org