05/03/2007

At tonight's 28th Anniversary Dinner, Refugees International will be honoring Sir Mark and Lady Malloch Brown with the 2007 McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award.

During Sir Malloch Brown's tenure as the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Development Program, he built a reputation as an energetic and effective international civil servant, a visionary and a leader. His wife, Trish has traveled on advocacy missions, visited refugee camps around the world and worked tirelessly to end poverty and injustice, both in her capacity as a board member for Refugees International and on her own causes.

The McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award honors those who have shown extraordinary service to refugees and displaced people. The award was instituted in memory of three people -- David and Penny McCall and Yvette Pierpaoli who died during a Refugees International mission to Albania in 1999. Past recipients include Kofi and Nane Annan, Ambassador John Danforth and Julia Taft.

Matt Dillon, actor and member of the Honorary Committee for tonight's dinner, was friend's with Yvette Pierpaoli. In 2005, he wrote in Reader's Digest that Yvette was "a legend among the worldwide community of volunteers who work with refugees." Writer John le Carré also knew Yvette and dedicated his book The Constant Gardener to "Yvette Pierpaoli -- who lived and died giving a damn." It is a tribute that applies equally to Penny and David McCall.

Refugees International is proud to honor Mark and Trish Malloch Brown with this award.