Which one among the following UN agencies has received the Nobel Prize more than once?

Correct — D, UNHCR. The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize twice. The first came in 1954, for the work of resettling the millions still displaced in Europe years after the Second World War, at a time when the office had been created for a three-year mandate and was expected to wind itself up. The second came in 1981, by which point the agency had become permanent in all but name and was running relief for the Indochinese boat people and for refugee populations across Africa. Repeat laureates are extremely rare. In the whole history of the Peace Prize only two organisations have won more than once: the International Committee of the Red Cross, three times in 1917, 1944 and 1963, and UNHCR. Since the Red Cross is not a United Nations body, UNHCR is the sole UN institution with two. Each of the other three options is a genuine laureate, which is what makes the item work — the question is not whether they have won, but how many times.

• (a)ILO — The International Labour Organization won the Nobel Peace Prize once, in 1969, its fiftieth anniversary year. Founded in 1919 under the Treaty of Versailles, it became the first specialised agency of the United Nations in 1946.
• (b)WFP — The World Food Programme won once, in 2020, for its work against hunger and for making food security a route out of conflict. It is the most recent UN laureate, not a repeat one.
• (c)UNICEF — The United Nations Children's Fund won once, in 1965. Set up in 1946 for children in war-devastated Europe, it has never received a second prize.

UNHCR was created by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 319 (IV) of December 1949 and began work on 1 January 1951, with headquarters in Geneva. Its founding mandate ran for three years, on the assumption that Europe's displaced would be settled and the office closed; instead the mandate has been renewed and, since 2003, carries no time limit. Its legal foundation is the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, whose central rule is non-refoulement — that no one may be returned to a country where their life or freedom would be at risk.

Current-affairs questions about awards are usually about who won; this one is about counting, which is a different memory task. The safe way to hold it is by the exception. Only two Peace Prize winners have ever repeated, and the pair is the ICRC and UNHCR. Everything else that a candidate can name from the UN system — ILO, UNICEF, WFP, the IAEA in 2005, the IPCC in 2007, the peacekeeping forces in 1988, the United Nations itself with Kofi Annan in 2001 — has exactly one. As of 2026 that position is unchanged; no fourth UN body has joined the list since WFP in 2020.

• UNHCR received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1954 and again in 1981 — the only United Nations body with two.
• The International Committee of the Red Cross has won three times, in 1917, 1944 and 1963, but it is not a UN organisation.
• ILO won in 1969, UNICEF in 1965 and WFP in 2020, once each.
• UNHCR was created by UN General Assembly Resolution 319 (IV) of December 1949 and started work on 1 January 1951, based in Geneva.
• Its legal basis is the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol, built around the rule of non-refoulement.

• Reading the question as 'which of these has won a Nobel Prize' — all four have. The word that matters is 'more than once'.
• Naming the Red Cross as the UN's repeat winner. The ICRC has three prizes but is an independent Swiss body, not part of the UN.
• Confusing UNHCR with the UN Human Rights Council or with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, which are different bodies.

As a count question like this one, in reverse as 'which UN organisation has NOT been awarded the Nobel Prize', or by asking for the year of a particular award.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In which years was the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

  • (a)1951 and 1967
  • (b)1954 and 1981
  • (c)1965 and 1969
  • (d)1988 and 2001

  Answer(b) 1954 and 1981 — the first for resettling Europe's post-war displaced, the second for relief work with the Indochinese boat people and refugees in Africa.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The World Food Programme received the Nobel Peace Prize in which year?

  • (a)2005
  • (b)2007
  • (c)2020
  • (d)2023

  Answer(c) 2020 — for its efforts against hunger and for treating food security as a condition of peace. The 2005 award went to the IAEA and 2007 to the IPCC.