Guterres donates Zayed Award prize money to UNHCR

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that he will donate the prize money he won from the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), reported Xinhua.

The prize money, 500,000 U.S. dollars, will be used to buttress the UNHCR's "indispensable efforts to protect the most vulnerable members of the human family -- the forcibly displaced," said Guterres in his acceptance message.

"It is an honor to receive the Zayed Award for Human Fraternity. I know this is also recognition of the work of the United Nations to advance peace and human dignity every day and everywhere," he said in the message.

Discrimination, racism and extremist violence are surging across the globe. As the world faces the COVID-19 pandemic, an economic crisis, a climate emergency and threats to peace, unity and solidarity are more important than ever. There must be no room for hatred in the future we are striving to build, he said. "This award will inspire us as we continue that vital work."

Guterres and Moroccan-French activist Latifa Ibn Ziaten won this year's Zayed Award, which recognizes efforts to spread the work of human fraternity and co-existence around the world.