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Angela Merkel awarded in Geneva the Nansen Prize for 2022

Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel received the Nansen Prize from UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi on 10th October 2022 in Geneva.

The Award is given to an individual, group or organization who has gone beyond the call of duty to protect refugees, internally displaced or Stateless people.

Angela Merkel was named winner of the prestigious Nansen Award, for offering a haven to over 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers fleeing violence at the height of the Syrian conflict, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said.

Each year, the 2022 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award – named after the Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, scientist, diplomat and first High Commissioner for Refugees in the League of Nations, from 1920 to 1930, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922.

It is also 100 years since the creation of the Nansen passport, an identity document for refugees that enable holders to move across borders in search of work.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi lauded Ms. Merkel for displaying “great moral and political courage” in helping so many survive and rebuild their lives, who had been forced to flee brutal fighting at home.

In her acceptance speech, Ms. Merkel stressed that that she rejected the selfish instincts of some “with cold hearts”, who wanted Germany to be only for Germans.

“What is important is a future for the country to be self-confident and free”, a Germany which “is open to other human being [… and] can succeed if we do our best”, she said.

The former German Chancellor insisted that the accolade was “also an honour for all the people who have to grips with the tasks we faced.” “My thanks goes first and foremost to all those people”, she said.

Angela Merkel quoted Erich Kästner: “There is nothing good unless you do it.” At the time, many people in the cities and communities as well as many volunteers contributed to meeting the challenges. “From my point of view, this tribute is therefore addressed above all to the countless people who put their hand to the dough at the time, to whom we owe it to have mastered the situation, to have succeeded,” Merkel said.

For UNHCR, this distinction is above all that of “true leadership, appealing to our common humanity, firmly opposing those who preach fear and discrimination. In helping more than a million refugees survive and rebuild, Angela Merkel has shown great moral and political courage,” said Grandi. “Merkel has shown what can be achieved when politicians take the right course of action and strive to find solutions to the world’s challenges rather than simply blaming others,” Grandi added.

Ivan Elsmark
(UNHCR and Internet information)

Nobel Peace Prize for 2022

The Nobel Peace Prize has this year been awarded to one individual and two to human rights advocates: Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Centre for Civil Liberties organisations.

The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. For many years, they have promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.  “The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the three neighbouring Belarusians, Russia and Ukraine,” said its president Berit Reiss-Andersen.

Ales Bialiatski was one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s. He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country. Among other things, he founded the organisation Viasna (spring) in 1996 in response to the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president, dictatorial powers and that triggered widespread demonstrations. Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families. In the years that followed, Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners.

Government authorities have repeatedly sought to silence Ales Bialiatski. He was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014. He was again arrested, following large-scale demonstrations against the regime in 2020. He is still detained without trial. Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus.

The Centre for Civil Liberties was founded in Kyiv in 2007 for advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. The centre has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy. To develop Ukraine into a state governed by rule of law, the Centre for Civil Liberties has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Centre for Civil Liberties has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population. In collaboration with international partners, the centre is playing a pioneering role with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable for their crimes.

Human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to ensure that the victims of the communist regime’s oppression would never be forgotten established the human rights organisation Memorial in 1987. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and human rights advocate Svetlana Gannushkina were among the founders. Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation in Russia. In addition to establishing a centre of documentation on victims of the Stalinist era, Memorial compiled and systematised information on political oppression and human rights violations in Russia. Memorial became the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities. The organisation has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law.

By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 to Ales Bialiatski, Memorial and the Centre for Civil Liberties, the Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbour countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. Through their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations – a vision most needed in the world today.

Ivan Elsmark
(UNHCR and Internet sources)

Tribute to Hélène Pour: EARLY RETIREMENT- More work or something new?

Coping admirably with complications of a lung disease, Hélène Pour left us on 8 April 2022, shortly after her 81st birthday. Her final message was “Toujours à la recherche d’un monde meilleur” She insisted that there be no ceremony or speeches. In lieu of those formalities, this tribute presents a short recap of her ILO journey and nearly 30 years of her retirement.

Many of us wonder what retirees do after the ILO. Do they (or we) wander from the familiar path followed throughout a career? What particular goals motivate them (or us) to turn to new horizons? This is one story, certainly among many, and a simple way to say adieu to a dear friend and colleague.

Hélène joined the ILO in 1965 in the Press Department. She loved to write – and somehow managed to keep most of her work (philosophical and political musings and poetry) to herself, which we discovered after she died. But as a young official she quickly worked for UNION on the editorial board. Her articles were sprinkled throughout issues of UNION in the late1960s and the 1970s. Her interviews gave the staff insights into the backgrounds and personalities of new high level officials (Bertil Bolin and Albert Tevoedjre) and a personal exchange with David Morse on art in 1970. She organized a round table of “young professionals” to discuss their attitudes to and expectations of work in the ILO, and wrote a long summary (UNION no. 11 & 12). This summary intrigued Francis Blanchard, who later made it a point to seek out the work of young professionals. When equality of treatment and opportunity for women came to the fore in the 1980s, Hélène interviewed Antionette Beguin who had led a task force, which included SUC members, The Task Force recommendations had little impact for many years, but laid the basis for later progress.

On the professional front, Hélène was never far from information, education and communication (IEC). From writing extracts on vocational training and editing reports on management development, she moved to Workers’ Education with a UNFPA funded programme and later to the Employment Department. Developing and producing educational and communication materials on population issues, conducting training programmes in many countries in Asia and Africa and providing technical backstopping to IEC projects in Africa, she considered this work one of the highlights of her career. After a leave of absence for about 2 years with UNFPA /FAO programmes, she returned to the ILO’s Employment and Development Department in 1992. Shortly thereafter she took a gamble: early retirement with a huge cut in retirement benefits at the age of 52.

So what do young retirees do with their “free” time? Like many of her colleagues, for a number of years Hélène continued along the familiar path of IEC, focusing increasingly on communications as a consultant. The horizons widened and she turned to films, always on substantive issues. She produced, for example, the ILO film “Tremors” marking the ILO 75th anniversary. And then older stronger sirens called, linked to the arts, building and antiques. Delving into interior design and ecological questions, Hélène embarked on renovating properties with friends. The result was a lovely cottage in the Touraine (complete with a sculpture garden one summer), an unfinished flat and a large apartment in Thoiry. Along the way she pursued her passion for antiques and “brocante”, going to different fairs, setting up stands, buying and selling. Her last brocante was in Ferney Voltaire in October 2021. The arts took on a bigger role year after year. She would not miss the Avignon Theatre Festival, nor would she miss the annual photojournalism exhibit Visa pour l’Image in Perpignan.

While she never lost her interest in development cooperation and the Third World, she became increasingly indignant about the state of the world and the planet. She channeled some of her combative energy into the Cercle Condorcet-Voltaire du Pays de Gex in which she served as Vice-President and played a large role in identifying and inviting speakers on topical and challenging issues of the day. Indignant about social injustices, political oppression, human rights violations, racism, violence against women and environmental destruction, among others, Hélène also became more and more of an activist. She participated in every march and demonstration that her health would allow, and then some.

Leaving behind the status and decorum of an international civil servant, perhaps many retirees become more militant and speak out more freely. I am not sure this was a rationale for Hélène. But her acts spoke for themselves. It came as no surprise that her final message was “toujours à la recherché d’un monde meilleur”. And it should come as no surprise that she left the bulk of her wealth to a number of human rights, refugee and women’s and feminist organisations.

Sally Christine Cornwell
October 2022