Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel wins UNESCO Peace Prize 2022

UNESCO Peace Prize 2022: Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel was awarded UNESCO Peace Prize for her ‘efforts to welcome refugees’. According to the website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Merkel was awarded the 2022 Félix Houphout-Boigny-UNESCO Peace Prize for her “courageous decision in 2015 to welcome more than 1,2 million refugees, notably from Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea” as per the statement issued byjury president and 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege.Merkel held the office of German Chancellor for a period of 16 yearsand resigned in 2021.

🔴 BREAKING NEWS

The Jury of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny - @unesco Peace Prize 🕊️ has awarded the 2022 Prize to Ms Angela Merkel, former Federal Chancellor of Germany, in recognition of her efforts to welcome refugees.

📰Read more: https://t.co/VYO41EyzkZpic.twitter.com/WBLwUpKEun

— UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳😷 (@UNESCO) August 23, 2022

1.2 million Migrants Welcomed in Germany

In 2015, Europe witnessed Migrant Crisis with refugees and asylum seekers travelling to the continent from surrounding regions from war and conflict zones. The migrant crisis was triggered following the Syrian Civil War and the War in Afghanistan and Iraq with civilian refugees seeking asylum in European countries. It was at peak of this crisis that the then German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened doors of Germany to accept nearly 1.2 million Refugees in the country.

Expanding the provisions for accepting refugees, Merkel announced that Germany would also process asylum applications from Syrian refugees if they had come to Germany through other EU countries. She also gave Germans a new slogan of "Wirschaffen das", "We can do this." and generated popular support for accepting more refugees into the country. Later on, after the support for refugees weaned off among the people, several within her conservative party questioned the decision to invite immigrants.

About UNESCO Peace Prize

Formally known as the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Peace Prize, the UNESCO Peace Prize was constituted in 1989 under the United Nations Charter and the UNESCO Constitution. The prize is awarded to a person, an organization or a private or governmental body for making a significant contribution for “promotion, study, safeguarding, or maintenance of peace.” The prize has been named after Félix Houphouët-Boigny, the late former president of Côte d'Ivoire. The prize includes a gold medal and a cheque of USD 150,000 along with a peace diploma.Some renowned personalities who have received the UNESCO Peace Prize include South African President Nelson Mandela, 39th President of the USA Jimmy Carter, French President François Hollande and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina among others.