BERLIN – Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel has received a UN award for her 2015 decision to welcome refugees into the country.
Merkel, who left office last year, was awarded the Felix Houphouet-Bougny UNESCO Peace Prize on Wednesday in Ivory Coast’s capital, Yamoussoukro.
“All members of the jury were touched by her courageous decision to welcome more than 1.2 million refugees in 2015, especially those from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea. This is the legacy she leaves,” the jury wrote In August last year when the decision was first announced.
“It is more important than ever to be determined and work hard for peace,” Angela Merkel said in her acceptance speech. Quoting Houfouet-Boigny, Ivory Coast’s first president after independence from France in 1960, he said, “Dialogue is the weapon of the strong, not the weak.”
Merkel thanked the jury for making its choice, which “focuses on the fact that the war … also means that people have to leave their home countries”, referring to refugees from Ukraine.
“We thought the time for war in Europe had passed,” Merkel said. “But since February 24 last year, when Russia’s brutal aggression against Ukraine took place, we have come to the sad conclusion that this is not the case. It has shaken Europe to its roots.”
In 2015, Germany implemented an “open-door” refugee policy and Merkel said that many people across the country supported it, showing that Germany can be warm and welcoming.
“I express my sincere gratitude to all those [people] Because I also consider him the winner of this award.
The ceremony paid tribute to Merkel and her refugee policy.
UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay praised the “courageous decision” to accept more than one million refugees. Azoulay said, “You took a risk… you implemented the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.”
“We appreciate your humanity, your spirit of solidarity and your deep sense of morality, and your inspiring leadership,” said Jury President and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege.
Before the certificate was handed out, a short video recreated the steps that led to Merkel’s decision, which ended in her famous quote “we make it(“We’ll get it done”) and refer to the former chancellor as “Mama Merkel”.
The prize has been awarded each year since 1991 to individuals or organizations who have made significant efforts to promote, research or secure peace. The first winners were Nelson Mandela and Frederik Willem de Klerk.