Sister Rosita Milesi, a 79-year-old Brazilian nun who has dedicated four decades to helping refugees and migrants, was awarded the prestigious Nansen Refugee Award by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Wednesday. The annual award recognizes outstanding efforts to protect displaced and stateless individuals.
A member of the Scalabrini order, known for its global work with refugees, Sister Rosita has worked tirelessly as a lawyer, social worker, and activist to defend the rights and dignity of displaced people in Brazil. Born to poor farming parents of Italian descent in southern Brazil, she became a nun at the age of 19.
The Nansen Refugee Award, established in 1954 in honor of Norwegian humanitarian Fridtjof Nansen, has been given to notable figures including Eleanor Roosevelt, Medecins Sans Frontières, and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Sister Rosita is the second Brazilian recipient, following Archbishop Dom Paulo Evaristo Arns in 1985.
As the leader of the Migration and Human Rights Institute (IMDH) in Brasilia, Sister Rosita has helped thousands of forced migrants access essential services such as shelter, healthcare, education, and legal assistance. She also coordinates RedeMIR, a network of 60 organizations across Brazil that support refugees, including in remote border regions.
Her advocacy has shaped Brazil’s refugee and migration laws, notably influencing the 1997 refugee law and the 2017 migration law, which provide critical protections for displaced individuals and reduce the risk of statelessness.
