Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley Honored with Zayed Award for Human Fraternity

Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley has been named one of three recipients of this year’s prestigious Zayed Award for Human Fraternity.

Mottley was recognized for her leadership in addressing climate change and was honored alongside the humanitarian organization World Central Kitchen, founded by Chef José Andrés, and 15-year-old health innovator Heman Bekele. Bekele, the award’s first youth honoree, developed a cost-effective soap to prevent and treat early-stage skin cancer at the age of 14.

The annual independent international award honors individuals and organizations from diverse backgrounds who work selflessly and tirelessly to promote solidarity, integrity, fairness, and optimism while advancing peaceful coexistence.

During the award announcement, Mottley, speaking via video, expressed both gratitude and surprise at receiving the honor.

“We do things every day to make people’s lives easier and help them rest peacefully at night. I never expected to receive an award for it,” said Mottley, an attorney currently serving her second five-year term as Barbados’ prime minister. “I see this as validation that we are doing the right thing for the right reasons.

This is the only planet capable of sustaining life.”

She has often emphasized the importance of empathy, stating, “We must see people, hear people, and feel people.”

“If we do that, we begin to understand how they become victims – not just of the climate crisis, but of a deeply unfair and unjust world that has failed to create a truly level playing field. This applies not only to the 193 nations globally but also to the individuals within them,” Mottley said.

She added that the world still harbors a “sense of first-class and second-class citizens” and emphasized that such disparities are unacceptable.

“It is our shared humanity that unites us,” she concluded.