EuropaWorld 30/3/2001 The Nansen Refugee Award

Instituted in 1954 by the late High Commissioner for Refugees Dr van Heuven Goedhart, the Nansen Refugee Award is one of the most prestigious awards for those contributing outstanding service to refugees. Intended to draw attention to the plight of refugees and to give new impetus to international assistance, the first award was presented to Eleanor Roosevelt in 1955. The inaugural ceremony took place in the Council Chamber of the Palais des Nations in Geneva, where the prize has been awarded ever since.

The award is named after the League of Nations first High Commissioner for Refugees - Fridtjof Nansen. Originally a pioneer in the field of applied sciences, whose expeditions in the Arctic remain among the greatest exploration adventures of our time, Nansen accepted an appointment to become first Norway's ambassador to London and then Chairman of the Norwegian Delegation to the Laegue of Nation. In so doing, he started a profoundly influential engagement with world affairs. It was Nansen who was put in charge of the League's first large-scale humanitarian task after the First World War - to repatriate some 450, 000 prisoners of war from 26 different countries. Enlisting the co-operation of governments and voluntary agencies Nansen accomplished the operation in record time, preventing the human catastrophe that a lack of food and clothing would have inevitably wrought had the operation not been so swift.

Appointed as the League of Nations High Commission for Refugees in 1921 Nansen undertook several other major humanitarian missions. These included providing support for the massive flight of Greeks from Asia minor following the war between Greece and Turkey in 1922 and helping over 30 million people at risk of starvation in the USSR. Nansen was honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize in 1922 in recognition of his work.

Upon his death in 1930, his work was continued by the Nansen Office, whose work for refugees was also rewarded with a Nobel peace Prize in 1938. Fridtjof Nansen was a fitting inspiration therefore for the creation of a refugee award.

Since 1979 a monetary prize has been added to this award to help recipients continue their work. The prize today is an amount of $100,000, intended to enable the recipient to pursue refugee assistance projects drawn up in consultation with UNHCR. Previous award winners include President Nyerere of the United Republic of Tanzania, Ms Graca Machel of Mozambique, the League of Red Cross (and later Red Crescent) Societies and the medical charity Medicins Sans Frontières.

Starting this year, the award ceremony will be held on World Refugee Day, 20 June