The Nansen Refugee Award is a medal issued annually by the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a United Nations agency mandated to aid and protect refugees, forcibly displaced communities, and stateless people, and to assist in their voluntary repatriation, l ...

(UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of

refugees A refugee, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), is a person "forced to flee their own country and seek safety in another country. They are unable to return to their own country because of feared persecution as ...

, displaced, or stateless people. The award was established by UNHCR the organizations first High Commissioner,

Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart (19 March 1901 – 8 July 1956) was a Dutch politician, diplomat and journalist. A member of the Labour Party (Netherlands), Labour Party (PvdA), he was List of Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands, Minister of J ...

1954 as a tribute to

Fridtjof Nansen Fridtjof Wedel-Jarlsberg Nansen (; 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) was a Norwegian polymath and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. He gained prominence at various points in his life as an explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and co-founded the ...

was a

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

laureate, explorer, and

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

High Commissioner for Refugees and the award was established in honour of his work to support refugees. Van Heuven Goedhart felt that creating an award would increase the world's attention to the needs of refugees and increase global refugee aid. The inaugural awardee was

Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt ( ; October 11, 1884November 7, 1962) was an American political figure, diplomat, and activist. She was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, first lady of the United States, during her husband Franklin D ...

in 1954. Every year, the prize is presented at a ceremony in the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. The medal is accompanied by a $150,000

US dollar The United States dollar (symbol: $; currency code: USD) is the official currency of the United States and several other countries. The Coinage Act of 1792 introduced the U.S. dollar at par with the Spanish silver dollar, divided it int ...

prize. The award was expanded in 2017 to include regional winners for Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Europe. In 2018, the award was described as the "other Nobel" prize by NPR.

List of annual laureates

Lists of regional laureates

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

*
List of winners 1954 to 2012
', UNHCR (Spanish)
Nansen Refugee Award
official website
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
official website
Pictures of the 2012 Nansen Refugee Award ceremony

Interview with “Mama” Hawa Aden Mohamed, 2012 Nansen Refugee Award
b
Global Education Magazine
in the special edition of World Refugee Day. Awards established in 1954 Refugee award International humanitarian and service awards United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees United Nations awards Nansen Refugee Award laureates

List of annual laureates

Lists of regional laureates

See also

Notes

References

External links