The Vancouver Branch of the UN Association of Canada (UNAC) is proud to note that the Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).

In a small coronavirus-restricted award ceremony on Friday the chairwoman of the committee said that the award was given to WFP because it wanted to focus the world’s attention on “the millions of people who suffer from or face the threat of hunger.”  She added that hunger is used as a “weapon of war and conflict.”

In its citation the Nobel Committee praised the UN agency for its contribution to creating peace in conflict-affected areas such as Syria and Yemen. In a tweet of thanks, WFP responded “This is a powerful reminder to the world that peace and #ZeroHunger go hand-in-hand.”

The UN World Food Programme joins former UN Secretary-General the late Kofi Annan who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001 for revitalizing the UN and UN Peacekeeping Forces who received the award in 1988.

UNAC Vancouver is proud to acknowledge its board member Rosio Godomar who served in the UN WFP from 1991 to 2011.