Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was awarded the Félix Houphouët-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize this year for her efforts to welcome refugees, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Denis Mukwege, the president of the awarding body, announced on Tuesday.
All members of the jury were moved by (Angela Merkel's) brave decision in 2015 to (Germany) accept more than 1.2 million refugees from countries such as Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea, among others. This is his legacy, Mukwege declared. UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay also praised Merkel, saying the fact that she was awarded the prize was a reminder to all of us that how we deal with migrants and refugees is a key issue. It is not yet known when the award will be presented to Merkel, who retired from political life last year.
The German news agency dpa recalled that in the summer of 2015, at the height of the migrant crisis, the then German chancellor opened his country's borders to asylum seekers, saying that Germany would cope with the wave of refugees, that it would work, we would solve it.
Later, however, after his support in society and in his own conservative party decreased, he somewhat backed away from his pro-immigration stance.
Named after the former president of the Ivory Coast, the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize is awarded to individuals, private and public bodies who have done a lot to promote, protect and preserve peace. Since 1989, Nelson Mandela, Simon Peresz, Yasser Arafat and Francois Hollande have also been awarded the UNESCO Peace Prize.
MTI
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