World Food Programme wins Nobel
UN – With the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize bestowed on the Rome-based World Food Programme (WFP), the United Nations and its affiliated agencies continue to hold a near-monopoly of one of the world’s most prestigious annual awards.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the WFP as the “world’s first responder on the frontlines of food insecurity.” In a world of plenty, he pointed out, it is unconscionable that hundreds of millions go to bed each night hungry. Millions more are now on the precipice of famine due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The women and men of the WFP brave danger and distance to deliver life-saving sustenance to those devastated by conflict, to people suffering because of disaster, to children and families uncertain about their next meal,” Guterres declared. He also singled out David Beasley, WFP Executive Director, and the entire staff of the World Food Programme, for advancing the values of the United Nations every day and serving the cause of “we the peoples” as the Organisation marks its 75th anniversary year.
Beginning with the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN recipients of the Nobel Peace Prize also include SecretaryGeneral Dag Hammarskjold, the UN children’s agency UNICEF, the International Labour Organization, the UN Peacekeeping Forces, the United Nations and Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
The award also went to the predecessor of the United Nations: League of Nations for its work on aiding refugees.
“It’s because of the WFP family: they are out there in the most difficult, complex places in the world, where there’s war, conflict, climate extremes – it doesn’t matter. They are out there and they deserve this award ...
“This is the first time I’ve been speechless ... This is unbelievable. And Wow! Wow! Wow! Wow!”, an exhilarated Beasley, a former Governor of the US state of South Carolina, said.