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Press release
Five trailblazing women win UNHCR’s Nansen Refugee Awards for their life-changing work
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Nansen Refugee Award

Sister Rosita Milesi, the UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award’s 2024 Global Laureate, inside a greenhouse in Boa Vista, Brazil, where refugees and migrants practice sustainable agriculture.

© UNHCR/Marina Calderon
An older man with a beard holds a baby and looks into the camera.
Stories
Lebanese and Syrians suffer loss and displacement amid surging attacks
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Ali Trad, who was displaced from his home in South Lebanon by airstrikes, holds his grandson, Adam, at a collective shelter in Beirut, Lebanon.

© UNHCR/Houssam Hariri
A woman carries her belongings towards a truck taking refugees and returnees from the border in South Sudan
Stories
Five things to know about the crisis in Sudan
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South Sudanese returnees and Sudanese refugees who fled the conflict board trucks at the Joda border point near Renk, South Sudan.

© UNHCR/Andrew McConnell
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Faith communities have long offered sanctuary to refugees in their journey to safety, as first responders meeting protection or service delivery needs and supporting communities to find solutions such as private sponsorship programmes. This commitment comes from religious teachings, as well as a long-term commitment to upholding human rights.

The Multi-Religious Council of Leaders, brought together by UNHCR and Religions for Peace, strengthens collective efforts across regions and faiths to address root causes by supporting global advocacy, conflict prevention, reconciliation, peacebuilding and social cohesion initiatives.

Read the Religious Leaders Statement from the 2023 Global Refugee Forum

H.H. Shri Shri Sugunendra Teertha Swamiji image

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H.H. Shri Shri Sugunendra Teertha Swamiji
Sri Putige Matha Monastery Chairman, Somaiya Vidyaviha, Co-President of Religions for Peace

“It is said, Guests are like God. God will come as a guest. If we treat them like God then God is going to bless us. In the form of refugees God is coming to us.”  

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Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh

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Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh OBE KSG
Chairman, Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha; Co-President and Trustee, Religions for Peace

“More resources and opportunities are needed in countries where displacement is occurring. We cannot just tackle the problem of displacement. We must attempt to eradicate the reasons for the displacement in the first place. Global issues require global solutions, not band-aids. We need to:

  • encourage world Governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals;  
  • educate and make welcoming / hosting refugees a positive initiative;
  • create ambassadorial/champion roles in localities;
  • change the language from ‘them’, ‘illegal people’, ‘immigrants’, ‘migrants’ – the labelling dehumanises our human family
  • support and promote collaboration between faith communities, civil society and academic institutions to encourage collaboration and dialogue/participation with local/national governments.”
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The Council comprises 20 religious and spiritual leaders, and their mandate extends until the third Global Refugee Forum in 2027, where they will present progress on pledges made at the 2023 GRF and seek further commitments to action from a broader range of religious actors and institutions. 

Members of the Council were identified based on having served as strong advocates for conflict prevention, reconciliation and peacebuilding in humanitarian and forced displacement contexts. 

Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh

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Bhai Sahib Mohinder Singh OBE KSG
Chairman, Guru Nanak Nishkam Sewak Jatha; Co-President and Trustee, Religions for Peace

“More resources and opportunities are needed in countries where displacement is occurring. We cannot just tackle the problem of displacement. We must attempt to eradicate the reasons for the displacement in the first place. Global issues require global solutions, not band-aids. We need to:

  • encourage world Governments to implement the Sustainable Development Goals;  
  • educate and make welcoming / hosting refugees a positive initiative;
  • create ambassadorial/champion roles in localities;
  • change the language from ‘them’, ‘illegal people’, ‘immigrants’, ‘migrants’ – the labelling dehumanises our human family
  • support and promote collaboration between faith communities, civil society and academic institutions to encourage collaboration and dialogue/participation with local/national governments.”
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H.E. Archbishop Buti Tlhagale image

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H.E. Archbishop Buti Tlhagale
UNHCR high-level supporter, Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SACBC) Liaison Bishop of Migrants and Refugees; First Metropolitan Archbishop of Johannesburg

“Welcoming people, especially in the context of migrants and refugees means making them feel at home. Welcoming people take different forms. When refugees come to a country for the first time, they usually need food, accommodation, and need practical things. But as time goes on, they need documentation from the home affairs and need their children to be in school. Welcoming people means showing the best values which we have embraced. We welcome people because we too would like to be welcomed if we were in a different situation. Welcoming is a blessing we can always give to others.”  

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