No surprise here. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees this week announced that Senator Ted Kennedy received the top award for helping refugees get to America (except not to Hyannisport or any other community where the very rich and powerful live).
The late United States Senator Edward Kennedy has been awarded the most prestigious United Nations refugee award for his record of more than 45 years as an unparalleled champion of refugee protection and assistance.
“Senator Kennedy stood out as a forceful advocate for those who suddenly found themselves with no voice and no rights,” [like Mary Jo?] UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres said today in announcing the 2009 Nansen Refugee Award.
The award is given annually to an individual or organization for outstanding work on behalf of refugees.
They told him about the award in June. Whew! That’s a good thing.
Mr Kennedy’s work in establishing US refugee admissions, resettlement and asylum programmes directly helped millions of persecuted individuals to find protection and start new lives in the US, UNHCR said in a statement.
He was the chief sponsor of more than 70 refugee-related measures and was instrumental in codifying international refugee obligations into US law.
“UNHCR is grateful it was able to inform Senator Kennedy of the Nansen Committee’s decision in June, and deeply saddened by his passing,” the agency said. He died in August.