On Wednesday, UNESCO awarded former German Chancellor Angela Merkel a prestigious award in honor of her efforts to open her country to refugees while in office.
The UN organization presented Merkel with the “Felix Ofoe-Boigny” Peace Prize during an official ceremony in Yamoussoukro, the capital of Côte d’Ivoire, in recognition of the courageous decision she made to receive more than 1.2 million refugees between 2015 and 2016, reports Al-Rai daily quoting AFP.
“The committee wanted to honor the courageous decision taken in 2015 to receive more than a million refugees, when at the same time many voices were calling for the closure of Europe,” said UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay.
“I was at that time the most courageous visionary in politics,” she added, addressing Merkel.
Merkel’s decision came at the height of a migration crisis exacerbated by the war in Syria.
“Respecting, preserving and sharing human rights is a task for each of us,” said the former leader, who spent 16 years as German chancellor before stepping down in 2021. We have decided that it is necessary to respect these principles in our immigration policy.
“This was only possible because so many people rolled up their sleeves on the ground,” Merkel added at the Felix Ofoe-Boigny Foundation, named after the first president of Ivory Coast.
“Despite the hostility of public opinion, I took the decision to open Germany’s borders to refugees fleeing conflict zones,” said Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara.
“I have reminded all world leaders of their duty of solidarity towards all human beings,” he added, addressing Merkel.
About two thousand people were invited to attend the award ceremony, which was established in 1989 and was previously awarded to Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and Francois Hollande.