After 40 years of helping thousands of migrants and refugees, Brazilian nun wins UN refugee prize

GENEVA, Oct 9 — Brazilian nun Sister Rosita Milesi today won the United Nations refugee agency’s Nansen Award for decades of work championing the rights of migrants and refugees.

Milesi, 79, has helped thousands of people to access legal documents, shelter, food, health care, language training and the labour market in Brazil over 40 years, the UNHCR said in a statement.

“I decided to dedicate myself to migrants and refugees. I’m inspired by the growing need to help, to welcome, and to integrate refugees,” Milesi said in the statement.

“I’m not afraid to act, even if we don’t achieve everything we want to. If I take something on, I will turn the world upside down to make it happen.”

The Roman Catholic nun directs the Migration and Human Rights Institute, a frontline humanitarian agency.

The UNHCR highlighted her work as a lawyer, saying it had been “instrumental” in shaping public policy—notably Brazil’s 1997 refugee law, which helped to improve refugee rights, in line with international standards.

She played a similar role in Brazil’s 2017 migration law, bringing together various groups and mobilising lawmakers.

Milesi was named alongside four regional winners, all women.

“All too often, women face heightened risks of discrimination and violence, especially when forced to flee,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in the statement.

“But these five winners show how women are also playing a critical role in the humanitarian response and in finding solutions.”

Grandi praised their dedication to driving action in their communities, building grassroots support, and shaping national policies.

US$100,000 prize

The four regional winners were:

• Maimouna Ba, an activist from Burkina Faso who helped more than 100 displaced children return to the classroom.
• Jin Davod, a Syrian refugee and social entrepreneur who built an online platform to connect thousands of trauma survivors with licensed therapists.
• Nada Fadol, a Sudanese refugee who mobilised aid for hundreds of refugee families fleeing to Egypt.
• Deepti Gurung, who campaigned to reform Nepal’s citizenship laws after her daughters became stateless.

The people of Moldova received an honourable mention for their collective efforts to accommodate more than a million people fleeing the war in neighbouring Ukraine.

The awards will be presented in Geneva on October 14.

Established in 1954, the Nansen award includes a medal, plus $100,000 to fund a project that complements the winner’s work. The regional winners receive $25,000 each.

The award is named after the Norwegian polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen, the 1922 Nobel Peace Prize laureate who was the first high commissioner for refugees for the League of Nations, the UN’s precursor.

He developed the Nansen passport, which served as an identity document and a travel permit for refugees until 1942.

Last year’s winner was Abdullahi Mire, a former Somali refugee who assembly books and education for compatriots languishing in sprawling camps in Kenya.

The 2022 global laureate was former German chancellor Angela Merkel. — AFP