Geneva/Rio de Janeiro, 9 October 2024 (dpa/MIA) – Brazilian nun Rosita has been honoured with the Nansen Prize, the highest award from the UN's refugee agency, for her nearly 40 years of fighting for the rights and dignity of refugees, the agency announced on Wednesday.

Sister Rosita has provided thousands of people in Brazil with food and shelter and helped them find housing, education and work, the agency, known as the UNHCR, said.

"It is a great honour for me and a recognition that applies not only to me, but to all those who have accompanied me on this journey with migrants and refugees," the 79-year-old told dpa.

The nun heads the Institute for Migration and Human Rights (IMDH), which she founded in 1999, and also publishes scientific articles on displacement and migration. She coordinates a national network of 60 organizations working to strengthen solidarity between refugees and the communities that take them in.

Sister Rosita, who is a lawyer by training, has also played a key role in shaping policy such as the Brazilian Refugee Law of 1997.

"People are not invading any territory, they are not trying to take anything away from anyone, they just want to save their own lives, and in a dignified manner," said the nun. "Therefore, if they are received with dignity, they will also be a promising, positive and enriching presence in society."

The UNHCR has awarded the Nansen Prize every year since 1954 for outstanding commitment to refugee protection. It is named after Fridtjof Nansen, the first high commissioner for refugees.

Photo: UNHCR