After a long absence, former Chancellor Merkel can now often be heard on public stages again. In Geneva, she accepts an award for her refugee policy, which was heavily disputed in 2015. She was proud that the Germans had proved her right.
Former Chancellor Angela Merkel has been honored with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Refugee Prize. Merkel accepted the award in Geneva. Merkel called for respecting the rights of refugees and not sending people back to countries where they are being persecuted.
The UNHCR selection committee paid tribute to Merkel for her "leadership, courage and compassion" when Germany took in more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum-seekers at the height of the Syrian crisis in 2015 and 2016, victims of violence and persecution had been threatened. Merkel has shown "vision, courage and strength," said UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi when he presented her with the golden Nansen medal.
She demonstrated a "moral compass" that not only guided her work and her country's actions, but also "pointed the way for so many of us in Europe and around the world," he said. At a time when the number of displaced people worldwide has exceeded 100 million for the first time, this must be an example for other heads of state.
Accepting the award in front of around 500 people, Merkel acknowledged that Germany faced "enormous challenges" when so many refugees poured into the country at once. But the former chancellor, who uttered her famous phrase "We can do it" at the time, said she was proud that the Germans had proved her right. She hopes that in the future more people will feel obliged to provide refuge to other people in need, said the CDU politician. No one leaves home lightly and without careful consideration.
The prize, named after the Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanist Fridtjof Nansen, has been awarded every year since 1954 by the UNHCR to a person, group or organization that has done an outstanding job in protecting refugees, internally displaced persons or stateless persons.
