Organizers said that Merkel showed political courage when Germany welcomed refugees in 2015-2016 who had fled conflicts in Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Eritrea.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Denis Mukwege, president of the jury awarding the prize, praised Merkel for having opened the gates of Germany ”at the same time many other countries were overcome with fear.”
“You showed public opinion and decision-makers that we have not only to defend our own rights, but those of others in times of crisis, that each society needs more than ever to respect and protect human rights without any form of discrimination,” he said.