The Winner of the King Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Prize 2001:
UNRWA, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, received the second King Hussein Humanitarian Leadership Prize on November 14th 2001 at a ceremony held at the Royal Court under the Patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II.
UNRWA was chosen for the Prize from among 67 different candidates from 29 countries, in recognition of its humanitarian work in providing basic education, health and relief, and social services to millions of Palestinian refugees over the past 52 years.
“The recipient of our 2001 award has for five decades rendered life-saving emergency relief services to millions of people in our region and has worked tirelessly to help build a better and more peaceful
future,” said Her Majesty Queen Noor describing UNRWA at the presentation ceremony.
UNRWA is unique in terms of its long-standing commitment to one group of refugees and its contributions to the welfare and human development of four generations of Palestine refugees. Originally envisaged as a temporary organization, the Agency, established December 8, 1949, has gradually adjusted its programmes to meet the changing needs of the refugees.
The agency announced that the US$ 50,000 accompanying the prize will be used for treating children psychologically affected by the violence in the occupied Palestinian territories.
Accepting the Prize on behalf of UNRWA, Commissioner-General Peter Hansen praised Jordan’s continuous support for the refugees, and expressed his gratitude for the award “on behalf of the 23,000 dedicated staff of UNRWA, who are almost all themselves refugees.”
