Explanation

A Japanese academic and diplomat who became the first female to be appointed UN High Commissioner for Refugees has died aged 92. Sadako Ogata worked on some of the largest crises of the decade during her time in service from 1991 to 2000. Challenges included helping Kurdish refugees fleeing from Iraq after the 1991 Gulf War, and the Balkans War. She was known for her great passion in working to protect the “defenceless and dispossessed”.