Dr. Hak Ja Han Nominated for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize 🎖️

The nomination was submitted by Dr. Jan Figel, former EU Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief and President of FOREF Europe. In his formal submission, he cited her decades-long record in interreligious dialogue, Korean Peninsula peacebuilding, humanitarian cooperation, and her defense of family values as pillars of stable societies.

Born in what is now North Korea, Dr. Hak Ja Han lived through the Korean War as a child. That experience of displacement and division left a permanent mark — one she channeled, decades later, into a life of institutional peacebuilding on the world stage. Her memoir, Mother of Peace, tells that story in her own words.

Her approach to peace was always structural, not symbolic. In 1992, she co-founded the Women's Federation for World Peace, a global platform for women's leadership in peacebuilding through education, humanitarian service, and community development. In 2005, she co-founded the Universal Peace Federation itself, creating a permanent multilateral space for dialogue among governments, religious leaders, scholars, and civil society.

Her speaking tours took her to symbolically loaded venues at critical historical moments: in 1993 alone, she addressed the Japanese Diet, spoke in the Kremlin in Moscow, in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, at the United Nations in New York, and before the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

In 1990, together with her late husband Dr. Sun Myung Moon, she visited Moscow and engaged Soviet leadership at the height of the Cold War's thaw. In 1991, they traveled to Pyongyang and met North Korean leadership directly — at a time when such engagement was nearly unthinkable.

This spirit of crossing geopolitical lines extended to the cultural sphere. The Little Angels Children's Folk Ballet of Korea, which she co-founded, performed in Pyongyang in 1998, sharing a stage with a North Korean children's troupe — an act of cultural diplomacy remembered long after the curtain fell.

Dr. Hak Ja Han has been among the most consistent international voices proposing concrete mechanisms for Korean reconciliation. The Rally of Hope summits created structured dialogue channels involving heads of state and civil society. The Sunhak Peace Prize extended that vision by recognizing contributors to sustainable development, environmental protection, and conflict resolution worldwide.

Her most ambitious proposal remains the development of an international Peace Park in the Korean Demilitarized Zone, linked to the Peace Road and International Peace Highway — including proposed tunnel connections between Korea and Japan and across the Bering Strait.

Since assuming primary leadership of UPF in 2012, following the passing of Dr. Sun Myung Moon, Dr. Hak Ja Han has convened and addressed major international summits on every continent:

The nomination arrives at a sensitive moment. Reports indicate that Dr. Hak Ja Han has been under detention for an extended period — a development that has raised concern among observers in the international community, given her ongoing public role and international commitments.

The nomination ultimately draws attention to a model of peacebuilding that is patient, institutional, and relentlessly cross-boundary — qualities that are, perhaps, as rare as the recognition it is now receiving.

Under the high patronage of President Paul Biya, more than 250 guests gathered at the Hotel Franco in Yaoundé to witness the investiture of Mrs. Georgette MEDJIADEU TCHOKOUALIEU as UPF Ambassador for Peace.

The ceremony brought together administrative authorities, traditional leaders from Cameroon's 10 regions, religious figures, media professionals, and women's and youth organizations — a living portrait of what the event's organizers called the spirit of "living together." It was presided over by Dr. Paterne Zinsou and organized with the support of UPF Cameroon, represented by Deputy Secretary General Mrs. Rachel Van Iersel.

In his closing address, Dr. Zinsou reminded the audience that the Ambassador for Peace title is not ceremonial — it marks the start of a lifelong commitment requiring personal transformation, sacrifice, and consistent alignment between values and action.

UPF holds general consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC. The Ambassador for Peace program recognizes individuals committed to peace, social cohesion, and interfaith dialogue at the community and national level.