UNHCR to get 2015 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace

New Delhi: The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2015 will be awarded to the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The decision was taken by the international jury of the prize, headed by Vice President Hamid Ansari, Indira Gandhi memorial trust secretary Suman Dubey said.

The prestigious award is being given to the office of UNHCR in recognition of its “immense contributions” in assisting millions of refugees and for working under difficult circumstances to bring about changes to reduce the flow of refugees.

The UN General Assembly established the UNHCR on 14 December, 1950, initially to help people displaced by the World War II. In the decades that followed, it became the principal agency that has helped displaced people throughout the world.

UNHCR’S mission is to safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees and seek lasting solutions to their plight.

The prize is accorded annually to individuals or organisations in recognition of creative efforts toward promoting international peace, development and a new international economic order, ensuring that scientific discoveries are used for the larger good of humanity, and enlarging the scope of freedom. The prize carries a cash award of ₹ 25 lakhs and a citation. It was first awarded in 1986.