Colombian Mayerlin Vergara Perez, better known by her nickname Maye, is the 2020 recipient of the prestigious Nansen award for refugees, for having rescued sexually exploited children for two decades, announced Thursday 1er October the United Nations (UN). The award ceremony will be held on October 5, virtually, pandemic obliges.
His action notably made it possible to change the law in his country, to punish heavier penalties those who facilitate the sexual exploitation of the youngest.
The High Commission for Refugees Nansen Award “Pays tribute to individuals, groups and organizations whose work goes well beyond their professional obligations to protect refugees, displaced persons and stateless persons”, said the United Nations refugee agency on its website.
“People like Maye are the best in us. His courage and self-sacrifice to help and protect some of the most vulnerable children are simply heroic ”, said Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, quoted in the statement.
“His unwavering dedication has saved hundreds of refugee lives and given them hope for the future. “
His predecessor, a Kyrgyz lawyer
Mayerlin Vergara Perez is the Caribbean Regional Coordinator for the Renacer Foundation, which has assisted over 22,000 children. Speaking of the children she rescues in a UNHCR video, “Maye” highlights their vulnerability: “They come to us filled with pain, sadness and despair and our home becomes that place, that refuge in which they can be themselves. “
The Nansen Refugee Award was established in 1954 and takes its name from Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen, who served as the League of Nations’ first High Commissioner for Refugees from 1920 to 1930.
Last year this accolade went to a Kyrgyz lawyer who fought to end the status ” ghost “ stateless persons in Kyrgyzstan, Azizbek Ashurov. He helped his country become the first state in the world to end statelessness, through his organization Ferghana Valley Lawyers Without Borders.