List of Nansen Refugee Award recipients

Not to be confused with Fram Committee Nansen Award.
Nansen Refugee Award
Logo
Awarded forOutstanding service to the cause of refugees
LocationGeneva
Presented byUnited Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Reward(s)US$150,000
First awarded1954
Websitewww.unhcr.org/nansen
The top of the Nansen Medal reads: "Nestekjærlighet er Realpolitik" (English: Altruism is Practical Politics)

The Nansen Refugee Award is a medal issued annually by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to an individual, group, or organization in recognition of outstanding service to the cause of refugees, displaced, or stateless people.[1] The award was established by UNHCR the organizations first High Commissioner, Gerrit Jan van Heuven Goedhart 1954 as a tribute to Fridtjof Nansen.[2] Fridtjof Nansen was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, explorer, and League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees[3] and the award was established in honour of his work to support refugees.[4] Van Heuven Goedhart felt that creating an award would increase the world's attention to the needs of refugees and increase global refugee aid.[2]

The inaugural awardee was Eleanor Roosevelt in 1954.[5] Every year, the prize is presented at a ceremony in the Bâtiment des Forces Motrices, in Geneva.[6][7] The medal is accompanied by a $150,000 US dollar prize.[3] The award was expanded in 2017 to include regional winners for Africa, Asia, the Americas, the Middle East, and Europe.[8]

In 2018, the award was described as the "other Nobel" prize by NPR.[9]

  1. ^ Nansen Refugee Award, UNHCR
  2. ^ a b Bador, Geneviève; Delarue, Olivier (1 April 2003). "The Nansen Refugee Award". Refugee Survey Quarterly. 22 (1): 48–51. doi:10.1093/rsq/22.1.48.
  3. ^ a b "Germany's Angela Merkel to receive UN prize". South China Morning Post. 2022-10-10. Retrieved 2023-02-22.
  4. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "About the Award". UNHCR. Retrieved 2023-02-27.
  5. ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Our Winners". UNHCR. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  6. ^ "UNHCR - Frequently Asked Questions". unhcr.org. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  7. ^ "The UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award 2021" (PDF). unhcr.org. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
  8. ^ "Past Laureates". UNHCR. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  9. ^ Cole, Diane (2018-10-17). "'Other Nobel' Goes To Amazingly Humble Surgeon In South Sudan". NPR. Retrieved 2022-08-04.