Posts Tagged ‘UNRWA’

MEPs shortlist three finalists for the 2025 Sakharov Prize

October 20, 2025

Members of the Foreign Affairs and Development Committees of the European Parliament voted on Thursday for the three finalists for the 2025 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (in alphabetical order):

-Imprisoned journalists fighting for your freedom and ours, Andrzej Poczobut from Belarus and Mzia Amaglobeli from Georgia

    -Journalists and Humanitarian Aid Workers in Palestine and all conflict zones, represented by the Palestinian Journalists Syndicate, the Red Crescent, and UNRWA ;

    -Serbian students

    Find the biographies of the candidates and finalists by following this link.

    The Conference of Presidents, comprising European Parliament President Roberta Metsola and the leaders of the political groups, will choose the 2025 laureate from this  shortlist. Their decision will be announced in the Strasbourg Hemicycle during the plenary session on 22 October 2025.

    For more on the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought (and other awards with Sakharov in the name, see: https://www.trueheroesfilms.org/thedigest/awards/BDE3E41A-8706-42F1-A6C5-ECBBC4CDB449.

    https://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/press-room/20251008IPR30829/meps-shortlist-three-finalists-for-the-2025-sakharov-prize

    Posted in awards, EU, human rights, Human Rights Defenders | Leave a Comment »
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    Filippo Grandi new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

    November 12, 2015

    On 11 November 2015 the Secretary-General of the United Nations, following consultations with the regional groups, announced that Filippo Grandi of Italy is to be the new United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). filippo_portrait_lng

    This is good news for the organization and the millions of refugees as Filippo brings enormous humanitarian experience with him: He was Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from 2010 to 2014 and it’s Deputy Commissioner-General from 2005 until 2010.  He served as the Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative with the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) and has a long-standing career with UNHCR (1988-2004), notably as Chief of Mission in Afghanistan and Chief of Staff in the High Commissioner’s Executive Office.  His vast field experience includes various positions in Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Iraq, having also led emergency operations in Kenya, Benin, Ghana, Liberia, the Great Lakes region of Central Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Yemen.

    Filippo Grandi was born in Milan in 1957. He has a bachelor’s degree in philosophy from the State Universities of Venice and Milan, and from the Gregorian University in Rome.

    Source: Secretary-General Nominates Filippo Grandi of Italy United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases

    Posted in human rights, UN | 1 Comment »
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