Félix Houphouët-Boigny

The Félix Houphouët-Boigny UNESCO Peace Prize is intended to honour living individuals and active public or private bodies or institutions that have made a significant contribution to promoting, seeking, safeguarding or maintaining peace, in conformity with the Charter of the United Nations and the Constitution of UNESCO.

The Prize was established in 1989 by a resolution supported by 120 countries and adopted by the General Conference of UNESCO at its 25th session. It is in line with the philosophy of UNESCO’s founders who, in the preamble to the Organization’s Constitution, solemnly declare that: “Since wars begin in the minds of men and women, it is in the minds of men and women that the defences of peace must be constructed.”

Since its creation, this Prize has attracted considerable attention to UNESCO’s work in the field of peace promotion and research. Within 30 years, after of receiving the Prize, many winners have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. These winners include Nelson Mandela, Frederik Willem de Klerk, Yasser Arafat, Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres, Jimmy Carter, Martti Ahtisaari... The award ceremonies have always been occasions on which many Heads of State and eminent personalities visit UNESCO. By means of a resolution adopted by the Conference of Heads of State and Government, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) meeting at its 28th Summit, held in Dakar in June 1992, threw its full weight behind the Prize and its objectives. Lastly, in December 1996, the United Nations General Assembly, at its 51st session, gave support to the Prize through the adoption of its resolution A/ARES/51/101. In 2009, 93 accredited journalists attended the ceremony, as did many representatives of accredited radio and television stations and more than 50 articles were published.