CDS (I) 2024 General Knowledge · Question 22 of 120

Correct — C, UNHCR. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize twice, in 1954 and again in 1981. The Nobel record is blunt about how rare that is — only two recipients of any kind have won the Peace Prize more than once, the International Committee of the Red Cross three times in 1917, 1944 and 1963, and UNHCR twice. Since the Red Cross is not a United Nations body, UNHCR is the only UN organisation on that list, which is exactly what the stem asks for. The other three named bodies have each been honoured once.

• (a)IPCC — The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change won the Peace Prize once, sharing the 2007 award with Al Gore; it does not appear among the repeat winners.
• (b)IAEA — The International Atomic Energy Agency shared the 2005 Peace Prize with its Director General Mohamed ElBaradei — a single award, not two.
• (d)UNICEF — The United Nations Children's Fund was honoured in 1965. It is a well-known UN laureate, which is why it tempts, but it has been awarded only once.

The Nobel Peace Prize is decided by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, unlike the other Nobel Prizes, which are awarded in Sweden. Organisations as well as individuals may be honoured, and a handful of United Nations bodies have been. UNHCR, set up by General Assembly resolution 319 (IV) in December 1949 and operational from 1 January 1951, is the one UN body to have been honoured twice, in 1954 and 1981.

The trap here is that several UN bodies are famous Nobel laureates, so recognition alone does not discriminate between the options — you need the count, not the fact of an award. The cleanest way to hold this is to remember the whole repeat-winner list, because it is only two names long: the International Committee of the Red Cross with three prizes and UNHCR with two. Everything else in the field, UN or not, has one. The Red Cross also sets a second trap. It is an independent Swiss-founded humanitarian body, not a United Nations organisation, so it would not have been a valid answer even if it had appeared among the options. As of 2026 the position is unchanged: UNHCR remains the only UN organisation with two Peace Prizes.

• UNHCR received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and in 1981.
• Only two recipients have ever won the Peace Prize more than once — the International Committee of the Red Cross (1917, 1944, 1963) and UNHCR (1954, 1981).
• The ICRC is not a United Nations body, which is why UNHCR is the answer to a question restricted to UN organisations.
• UNHCR was established by UN General Assembly resolution 319 (IV) in December 1949 and began work on 1 January 1951.
• UNICEF was honoured in 1965, the IAEA in 2005 (shared with Mohamed ElBaradei) and the IPCC in 2007 (shared with Al Gore) — one award each.

• Answering UNICEF because it is the UN body most people can name as a laureate; it has one prize, in 1965.
• Counting the International Committee of the Red Cross as a United Nations organisation — it is not.
• Assuming a shared prize counts as more than one; the IAEA's 2005 award and the IPCC's 2007 award were each shared with an individual but are still single awards.

Asked as a one-line recall item on which UN body has been honoured more than once, and in other years as its mirror — which listed UN body has never been honoured at all.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which organisation has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize three times?

  • (a)UNHCR
  • (b)International Committee of the Red Cross
  • (c)Amnesty International
  • (d)Médecins Sans Frontières

  Answer(b) International Committee of the Red Cross — honoured in 1917, 1944 and 1963, the only three-time recipient.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded by a committee appointed in which country?

  • (a)Sweden
  • (b)Denmark
  • (c)Norway
  • (d)Finland

  Answer(c) Norway — the Norwegian Nobel Committee selects the Peace Prize laureate, while the other Nobel Prizes are decided in Sweden.