UN peace prize awarded to Germany’s former chancellor Angela Merkel for allowing refugees into Germany

On Wednesday, former German chancellor Angela Merkel received a top UN award for welcoming refugees into the nation while in office.

In Yamoussoukro, the capital of the Ivory Coast, Merkel received praise for allowing more than 1.2 million asylum seekers and refugees to enter Germany in 2015 and 2016. She also won the Felix Houphouet-Boigny UNESCO Peace Prize.

Audrey Azoulay, the director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, said: ‘When so many people were clamouring for the closing of Europe, the jury wanted to recognise the brave choice made in 2015 to accept more than a million refugees. At the time, you represented political courage.’

The decision was taken by Merkel when the refugee crisis, fuelled by the war in Syria, was at its peak.

‘Respecting, preserving and sharing human rights is the mission of each of us. We decided that it was necessary to respect these principles in our migration policy,’ the veteran former leader said.