Mary Robinson to Receive 2025 IPA | AIP Humanitarian Leadership Award

The International Peace Alliance | Alliance Internationale de la Paix (IPA | AIP) is honoured to announce that Mrs. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, has been selected to receive the 2025 Humanitarian Leadership Award.

“Mary Robinson is one of the great moral voices of our time,” said the Hon. Dr. Alvin Curling, Chair of IPA-AIP. “Her life’s work—whether in state office, the United Nations, or civil society—has been a tireless pursuit of fairness, dignity, and climate justice. We are proud to recognize her enduring contributions to a more humane world.”

The award will be presented at the Peace Ambassadors Awards Gala & Grand Ball, the closing celebration of the 2025 International Peace Festival, taking place on September 26, 2025, at the King Edward Hotel in Toronto, Canada.

As Ireland’s first female president, Mrs. Robinson redefined political leadership through her progressive, inclusive, and compassionate approach to governance. Her presidency from 1990 to 1997 marked a turning point in Irish public life, prioritizing social justice, women’s rights, and international cooperation.

Following her presidency, Mrs. Robinson served as UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, where she advanced the UN’s global human rights agenda and worked on the frontlines of humanitarian crises around the world. She is also the founder of the Mary Robinson Foundation – Climate Justice, and currently serves as Chair of The Elders, a group of independent global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela.

Mrs. Robinson’s accolades span decades and continents, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Sydney Peace Prize, the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education, and the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, among many others.