Red Cross awarded German prize for humanitarian services

The International Committee of the Red Cross was awarded Germany’s Marion Dönhoff Prize on Sunday in Hamburg for its work defending international humanitarian law.

The jury highlighted the Red Cross’s long-standing commitment to victims of armed conflict since being founded in 1863, including its most recent efforts in securing the release of Israeli hostages and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

In her laudatory speech, Foreign Office Minister of State Serap Güler highlighted the aid agency’s role in upholding international humanitarian law, according to the Die Zeit media group.

“Power stations and hospitals are targeted. Civilians are shot in the street. Rape is used as a weapon of war. Prisoners of war are tortured and murdered. Children are abducted,” Güler was cited as saying.

She added that it was shameful that Germany was cutting humanitarian aid and thus making the work of international air organizations more difficult.

A second prize was awarded to the EinDollarBrille (one-dollar spectacles) organization for assisting the partially sighted.

The organization is active in providing inexpensive spectacles in countries like Kenya, Brazil and India and in creating jobs.

The Marion Dönhoff prizes, each worth €20,000 ($23,000), have been awarded annually since 2003 by the Die Zeit weekly newspaper and related foundations.

It is named for Marion Dönhoff (1909-2002), who worked as a journalist, editor and publisher for the weekly.

Dönhoff is honoured for her resistance to the Nazi dictatorship during World War II.