The Nobel Prize for Peace

The United Nations and UN Secretary-General Kofi A. Annan share the centenary Nobel Peace Prize for working ''for a better organized and more peaceful world,'' awarded in Oslo on 10 December 2001.

The 2001 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded in two equal portions to the United Nations and UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan.

On 10 December 1965, former UNICEF Executive Director Henry Labouisse (1965-1979) at left, receives the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of UNICEF, presented by Nobel Committee Chairman of the Norwegian Parliament, Gunnar Jahn, at the prize ceremonies at Oslo University in Norway's capital city.

The Nobel Peace Prize Committee declared that the UN "is at the forefront of efforts to achieve peace and security in the world."

"It is a pursuit rooted in the dignity and worth of the human person - and it begins with children and the realization of their rights," said Carol Bellamy, Executive Director of UNICEF, one of the UN agencies sharing the prize.

UNICEF, as part of the United Nations family, is being honoured for the second time. The organization was awarded the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway, "for the promotion of brotherhood among nations."

Mrs Aase Lionaes, the member of the Nobel Committee who delivered the presentation speech noted that UNICEF was "a peace factor of great importance. UNICEF has realized that children provide the key to the future; the children of today make the history of the future."

Inspired by the Nobel Committee's recognition of the work of the UN and its agencies, UNICEF will strive to, in the words of the Secretary-General, "do more and do better" to improve and protect the lives of children around the world, and in so doing, build a more peaceful world, a world fit for children.

Links

Find out more about the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize award.

Access The Nobel Nobel Foundation website for the presentation and acceptance speeches for the 2001 award.

Go to the United Nations website for more coverage of the 2001 award.

Find out more about the 1965 Nobel Peace Prize awarded to UNICEF.

Read about an interview with UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan, or read his biography.