New York, NY 08 Nov 2006 - The IRC presented its Freedom Award Wednesday evening at the IRC’s annual fundraising dinner in New York to Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Africa's first female head of state. Johnson-Sirleaf’s election one year ago put the West African nation on a path toward economic and social recovery after years of civil war.

More than 860 guests attended the event at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel. Dinner chairman Sanford Weill said $1.7 million was raised. The IRC’s Corporate Responsibility Award was presented to Pfizer Inc., for its work providing life-saving medicine to displaced and threatened people, and the Excellence in Media Award went to Nicholas Kristof, columnist for the New York Times, who through his writing has helped focus world attention on the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

Johnson-Sirleaf was not able to attend, but in remarks taped earlier, she said she was grateful that the award would spotlight Liberia, which was founded by freed American slaves and became Africa's first independent republic in 1847. Because of its past, Johnson-Sirleaf said, Liberians had a unique relationship with the United States. "As Liberia goes through the process of renewal and reconstruction to become ever more self- reliant, I am hopeful that this special relationship will grow even stronger," she said.

Laila Khan, an IRC staff member from Pakistan, welcomed guests at the event, which was emceed by Tom Brokaw, the retired NBC Nightly News anchor. Khan described her and the IRC’s experience assisting victims of the massive 2005 earthquake in Pakistan. Tom Brokaw moderated a lively discussion of refugee issues between former U.S. Senator and 2004 Democratic vice presidential candidate John Edwards and U.S. Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas). The event also commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. Kati Marton, an IRC overseer who fled Hungary as a child for the United States, introduced a film about the IRC’s historic role helping Hungarian refugees in 1956. Other speakers included IRC board members Vera Blinken and John Whitehead, journalist Nick Clooney, who with his son, actor George Clooney, traveled with the IRC to Chad and Sudan, and Boubacar Barry, a refugee from Guinea, who with the IRC’s help has made a new life for himself in the U.S., and Andres Simonyi, Hungary’s ambassador to the United States.

"Many overseers and board and staff members contributed to the evening’s success," said George Rupp, "but I would like to single out our special events director, Ann Marie Duross, for her Herculean effort in managing every aspect of the entire event."

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