Germany's former chancellor Angela Merkel has received a prestigious UN award for opening her country to refugees during her time in office.
Merkel was hailed for welcoming more than 1.2 million refugees and asylum seekers to Germany in 2015 and 2016 as she was awarded the Félix Houphouët-Boigny UNESCO Peace Prize in Côte d'Ivoire's capital Yamoussoukro on Wednesday.
"The jury wanted to honour the courageous decision taken in 2015 to welcome more than a million refugees... when at the same time so many voices were calling for the closure of Europe," said Audrey Azoulay, director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
"You were, at that time, the vision of courage in politics," she told Merkel.
Among the international jury members were French astronaut Thomas Pesquet and American actor and UN goodwill ambassador Forest Whitaker.
Duty of solidarity
Merkel's decision came at the peak of a refugee crisis fuelled by the war in Syria.
"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," said the veteran former leader, who spent 16 years at the helm and stepped down in 2021.
"This was only possible because many people rolled up their sleeves on the ground," she said at the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation for Peace Research, named after Côte d'Ivoire's first president.
"Despite the hostility of public opinion, you took the decision to open Germany's borders to refugees fleeing conflict zones," said current Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara.
"You have reminded all world leaders of their duty of solidarity towards all humans," he added.
Mes chaleureuses félicitations à Mme Angela Merkel, ancienne Chancelière de l'Allemagne, lauréate du prestigieux Prix Félix Houphouët-Boigny pour la Recherche de la Paix de l'#UNESCO. pic.twitter.com/tVW08bbtBO
— Alassane Ouattara (@AOuattara_PRCI) February 8, 2023
The jury also awarded an honourable mention to Congolese activist Julienne Lusenge for her commitment to women victims of sexual violence.
Known for her work in North Kivu in the Democratic Republic of Congo in support of women's rights, she has denounced the use of rape as a "weapon of war".
Around 2,000 people were invited to the ceremony, including Senegalese president Macky Sall, George Weah from Liberia and Moussa Faki Mahamat, the president of the African Union commission.
On the Ivorian political side, both the opposition and ruling party were represented – suggesting openness from the organisers a few months ahead of elections.
RFI correspondent Bineta Diagne noted the presence of former presidents Henri Konan Bédié and Laurent Gbagbo, invited on the initiative of Alassane Ouattara. Their last official meeting dates back to July 2022.
"To emerge from the years of crisis, Ivorians must adopt new attitudes that promote the values of a culture of peace," Jean-Noël Loucou, Secretary General of the Félix Houphouët-Boigny Foundation told the audience.
Celebration of president's legacy
Augustin Thiam, governor of the district of Yamoussoukro, told RFI that this year the foundation will commemorate Houphouët-Boigny's contribution to Ivorian society with a series of conferences and meetings.
"70 percent of the Ivorian population is under 30 years old. This means that 70 percent of the population does not know Houphouët-Boigny," he said.
"Perhaps they know his name, but they didn't live under him, don't know his way of thinking. So it is up to us who knew Houphouët-Boigny to convey his philosophy, to popularise it."
The Houphouët-Boigny prize was established in 1989 and has previously been handed to Nelson Mandela, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin and François Hollande.
