UNHCR Honors Kurdish Activist and Global Humanitarians for Extraordinary Service to Refugees

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — In a profound recognition of resilience born from the ashes of historical trauma, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has named Taban Shoresh, a genocide survivor and tireless advocate for women’s rights in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, as the regional winner of the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award for the Middle East and North Africa.

The announcement, made in Geneva on Wednesday, places Shoresh at the forefront of a select group of global humanitarians honored for their extraordinary courage and compassion in aiding the displaced.

As the founder of The Lotus Flower, a women-led organization that has provided critical support to over 105,000 conflict survivors, Shoresh’s selection highlights the vital, often harrowing work required to rebuild communities fractured by war and persecution.

Shoresh’s journey to this international accolade is rooted in her own lived experience as a survivor of genocide, a background that has irrevocably shaped her professional path as an aid worker and activist.

According to the UNHCR announcement, her organization, The Lotus Flower, operates with a specific focus on the unique vulnerabilities faced by displaced women and girls in Iraq.

Originally established in 2016 with a staff of merely two individuals, the organization has grown into a formidable grassroots operation employing a team of 150.

By drawing on her personal history, Shoresh has constructed a support framework that goes beyond mere subsistence, aiming instead to impact the lives of tens of thousands through education, sport, skills development, and livelihood opportunities.

The organization’s mission is centered on aiding some of the most vulnerable victims of conflict, many of whom are survivors of rape, torture, trafficking, and slavery.

Shoresh describes the philosophy of The Lotus Flower as drawing on the inherent hope and strength of these women, enabling them to transition from victims to full participants and agents of change within their own communities.

"Anyone that faces adversity, especially through conflict and displacement – the sheer resilience and strength it takes to overcome something like that gives you the tools to bring so much into the world," Shoresh said, articulating the empowering approach recognized by the award.

This sentiment is echoed on the ground by staff members like Nathifa, a trainer with the organization in the Kurdistan Region, who noted, "What we have experienced in life was not easy. Yet this hardship pushed us to stand on our feet, to be strong, and to help ourselves and others."

The Nansen Refugee Award, established in 1954 and named after the celebrated Norwegian explorer and humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, is considered one of the highest honors in the humanitarian field.

It is designed to recognize individuals, groups, and organizations that go beyond the call of duty to protect refugees, as well as internally displaced and stateless people.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi, in a statement accompanying the announcement, emphasized that this year’s laureates serve as a reminder that compassion remains undimmed even in dark times.

Grandi noted that the unwavering commitment of these individuals to protecting and uplifting displaced people offers essential hope and inspiration, embodying the belief that every person forced to flee deserves dignity, safety, and hope regardless of their location.

While Shoresh secured the regional honor for the Middle East and North Africa, the 2025 Global Laureate title was awarded to Martin Azia Sodea, the chief of Gado-Badzéré village in Cameroon.

Chief Sodea’s recognition stems from a remarkable act of communal generosity and leadership that saw his small village integrate more than 36,000 refugees fleeing violence in the Central African Republic.

Under his guidance, the people of Gado-Badzéré refused to turn away those seeking sanctuary. Instead, led by the chief and his family, the community provided land for shelter and farming, offering the newcomers a tangible chance to rebuild their lives.

The UNHCR described his leadership as turning a small village into a symbol of solidarity, predicated on the conviction that those arriving in distress require not just material aid, but the space to breathe and recover.

Chief Sodea’s philosophy, which has reportedly inspired other traditional leaders in the region to adopt more welcoming postures toward refugees, challenges the often-exclusionary rhetoric surrounding displacement.

He articulated a simple yet profound message regarding his motivation, stating that as human beings, there is a mutual obligation to care for one another. He recounted the dire condition of the refugees upon their arrival, noting that some were already dying from the rigors of their journey.

His response was to mobilize his community to find them, bring food, and rescue them, asserting that he could not watch his "brothers die." In his view, there is no distinction between the refugees and the host population; they simply live together.

The breadth of the Nansen Award winners this year underscores the multifaceted nature of the global refugee crisis and the diverse sectors of society required to address it. In the Americas, the regional winner is Pablo Moreno Cadena, a business leader from Mexico who has leveraged his position in the private sector to foster inclusion.

As a senior executive at MABE, a major appliance manufacturer, Moreno Cadena has become a trailblazer by encouraging his company to actively hire and integrate refugees into its workforce.

His efforts demonstrate the critical role that economic opportunity plays in the stabilization and integration of displaced populations, moving the conversation beyond emergency aid to sustainable livelihoods.

In Europe, the award recognized the collective efforts of Proliska, a Ukrainian organization that has operated on the frontlines of one of the world's most active conflict zones.

Proliska was honored for providing life-saving aid to more than 3.2 million people, often venturing into the most dangerous and isolated areas where other agencies cannot reach.

The organization’s staff are frequently among the first responders in the aftermath of air strikes and shelling, staying put to ensure no one is left behind even as others evacuate. Their work exemplifies the physical courage required to deliver humanitarian assistance in the midst of active warfare.

The Asia-Pacific regional winner, Negara Nazari, represents the power of education and personal agency. An Afghan refugee and former DAFI scholar with a degree in economics, Nazari co-founded the Ariana Learning Centre in Tajikistan.

Rather than pursuing a lucrative corporate career, she chose a path rooted in compassion, dedicating herself to building a school for young Afghan refugees who had been excluded from educational opportunities.

Her initiative addresses the long-term developmental needs of displaced youth, ensuring that a generation of refugees is not lost to illiteracy and lack of opportunity.

The selection of these five winners—ranging from a village chief in Cameroon to a women’s rights activist in Kurdistan—paints a portrait of a global humanitarian ecosystem that relies heavily on individual initiative and local leadership.

Whether through the provision of land, the creation of jobs, the delivery of emergency aid under fire, the establishment of schools, or the empowerment of female survivors, each laureate has identified a specific gap in the protection of displaced people and stepped forward to fill it.

Their stories collectively reinforce the idea that while international organizations play a critical role, the most effective responses often come from within the communities most affected by, or adjacent to, the crises.

The awards, made possible through the support of the Governments of Norway and Switzerland, the IKEA Foundation, and the City and Canton of Geneva, will be formally presented at a ceremony on December 16 at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

As the international community prepares to honor these individuals, the spotlight on Taban Shoresh serves as a poignant reminder of the specific challenges facing the Kurdistan Region and the critical role that civil society organizations like The Lotus Flower play in healing the wounds of the past.

Her recognition on the global stage validates the work of thousands of women in the region who refuse to be defined solely by their victimization, choosing instead to be the architects of their own recovery and the protectors of their communities.