H.E. Mrs. Fanta Cissé, ECOWAS Resident Representative in Ivory Coast, took part in the solemn ceremony of awarding the UNESCO Félix HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY Prize for Peace Research. The prize was awarded this Wednesday, February 08, 2023 in Yamoussoukro in Côte d’Ivoire to Ms. Angela MERKEL, former Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany and Winner of the 2022 Edition Award.
The ceremony presided over by His Excellency Mr. Alassane OUATTARA, President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, recorded the presence of several Heads of State, including H.E. M. Umaru Sissoco EMBALO of Guinea-Bissau and Acting President of the Conference of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS, H.E.M. Nana Addo
Former Presidents Henri Konan BEDIE and Laurent GBAGBO, Mrs. Thérèse HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY, Vice-President of the Republic, Mr. Tiémoko Meyliet KONE, the Prime Minister, Mr. Patrick ACHI, the Presidents of Côte d’Ivoire Institutions, the President of the Commission of the African Union, H
UNESCO’s Félix HOUPHOUËT-BOIGNY Prize for Peace Research, named after the first President of the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, was created in 1989 by a resolution unanimously adopted by 120 UNESCO member states. It honours, throughout the world, living persons, public or private institutions or bodies, active and have contributed significantly to research, safeguarding or peacekeeping.
According to the Jury, the 2022 Edition Award was awarded to Ms. Angela MERKEL, for granting in 2015, when she was still in office, asylum and protection to more than one million people fleeing the war in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea.
Speaking on this occasion, President Alassane OUATTARA, indicated that the holding of this event in Yamoussoukro, offers the opportunity to celebrate the actions carried out in favour of the preservation of peace to which the Founding Father of the Ivorian Nation was so attached, while emphasising the legendary hospitality of the Ivory Coast, both in times of crisis and in times of peace.
He also congratulated the Laureate, and paid her a vibrant tribute, highlighting her leadership both in Germany and around the world, and her values of courage, humanism and solidarity.
The ceremony was also marked by several other interventions, including those of the Director General of UNESCO, President Macky SALL, representing the Sponsor of the Prize, Mr. Abdou DIOUF, former Head of State of the Republic of Senegal, and former President Henri Konan BEDIE, Protector of the Prize. All praised the leadership of the Winner, Ms. Angela MERKEL, her courage, humanism and sense of solidarity. They also called for the advent of a better world.
After receiving her Prize, consisting of a diploma and a medal, from the hands of President Alassane OUATTARA and the Director General of UNESCO, Mrs. Audrey AZOULAY, Ms. Angela MERKEL donated the financial envelope that accompanies this Prize, worth US$150,000, to an Ivorian NGO, “SOS Enfance en danger”.
It should also be noted that the Jury also awarded a “honourable mention” to Ms. Julienne LUSENGE, President of the NGO “Women’s Solidarity for Peace and Integral Development”, for her commitment to women victims of sexual violence, in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The ceremony ended with a family photo and a lunch offered by the presidential couple.
