Turkish authorities recognized his work in refugee protection and his Ramadan solidarity visit to Türkiye.

On Thursday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presented the Atatürk International Peace Prize to United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres for his work in Palestine and with refugees.

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He praised Guterres’s stance on the Gaza crisis and highlighted his defense of the two-state solution and his commitment to “universal humanitarian values.”

Guterres, a Portuguese diplomat, will serve out his term in office in December. During the ceremony, Turkish authorities recognized his work in refugee protection and his Ramadan solidarity visit to Türkiye.

The Atatürk Prize, established in 1986 and named after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Türkiye, has been awarded to international leaders such as former German president Richard von Weizsäcker and Former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela initially rejected the award in 1992 due to Türkiye’s repressive record, but accepted it in 1999 during his mandate.

Guterres is the first laureate since 2000, when it was awarded to Rauf Denktas, president of the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. There was no official explanation for the subsequent interruption.

The UN Secretary-General criticized the Israeli plan to control humanitarian aid in Gaza, stating that it seeks to restrict supplies “down to the last calorie and grain of flour.”

Deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq stated that the UN will not participate in agreements that do not respect principles of “humanity, impartiality, independence, and neutrality.”

Israel argues that it seeks to prevent Hamas from receiving aid, but the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) denounces that the measures try to eliminate the existing system and exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

teleSUR: JP

Source: EFE

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