The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee announced Laureates for the Sunhak Peace Prize for 2019 – Waris Dirie and Dr. Akinwumi Ayodeji Adesina.
Waris Dirie, a human rights activist and super-model, is widely acclaimed for raising worldwide awareness of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). As an agricultural economist, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina has been promoting Good Governance in Africa through agricultural innovation for over 30 years and greatly contributed to food security in Africa.
Warisi Dirie was born into a nomad family and she was subjected to FGM at the age of 5. In 1997, she shared her experience to the world and was appointed as the Special Ambassador to the UN for the Elimination of FGM.
In 2002, she established the Desert Flower Foundation and in 2003, her anti-FGM campaign led 15 African Union member countries to ratify the Maputo Protocol which promotes eradication of FGM. In 2012, the UN unanimously passed a resolution banning the practice of FGM, and the UN has set a goal to eliminate FGM by 2030.
