NAGOYA, Japan — President Macky Sall of Senegal and Lutheran pastor Munib Younan were awarded the Sunhak Peace Prize Saturday for their work promoting peace and prosperity in Africa and the Middle East.
The Sunhak Peace Prize Committee also chose former U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for its Founders Award, citing his service with the international body and his commitment to addressing climate change.
The fourth peace prize awards were announced by Hak Ja Han Moon, widow of the Rev. Sun Myung Moon and leader of the Unification movement that arose from the Unification Church he founded in 1954. She is the head of the Universal Peace Federation, which held its leadership summit and conference this weekend in Nagoya, Japan. The peace prize committee honored Mr. Sall for “spreading mature democracy to neighboring countries in the African continent, where dictatorship and poverty are still rampant, by successfully shortening the presidential term [from seven years to five] and leading an economic revival through transparent policy.”
The committee noted that Mr. Sall’s two-phase economic program has stabilized Senegal’s growth at around 6%.
Bishop Younan, an Arab Christian born in Jerusalem, served as president of the Lutheran World Federation from 2010 to 2017, where he “led efforts toward religious harmony on a global scale,” the committee said. He is credited with helping to foster a closer dialogue with the Catholic Church and devoting his life to promoting harmony among Jews, Christians and Muslims.
They will share the $1 million prize.
Mr. Ban will receive $500,000 as the winner of the Founders Award at a ceremony in Seoul in February, to mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of Rev. Moon, whose ministry grew from a tiny, embattled church in his native South Korea to a global spiritual movement and an affiliated commercial empire comprising real estate, manufacturing and agricultural operations, and media properties including The Washington Times.
He was chosen for “his devotion in leading the U.N. toward a sustainable world in the face of unprecedented global challenges and crises, such as the global economic crisis, climate change, terrorism and refugee issues during his term,” the committee said.
The laureates were selected from a total of more than 80 nominees worldwide.
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