Yesterday (April 25, 2012), Sean Penn made an emotional speech as he accepted the 2012 Peace Summit Award, in front of a gathering of Nobel Peace Prize laureates. The Oscar-winning actor received the award in recognition for the work that he has carried out helping the people of Haiti, whose homes and lives were ravaged by an earthquake in January 2010.

Accepting the award, Sean said "it's an overused phrase I know, but I trust you know its genuine today, I am humbled. I'm trembling and I like it." The award was presented to him by the former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, the Dalai Lama and Lech Walesa, the former president of Poland. According to CNN the papers that Penn was holding in his hand began to tremble and he became emotional as he described the conditions that he had faced in Haiti. He also told the story of a Haitian police officer, who had lost his family in the earthquake.

Penn used the opportunity to stress the importance of continued support in Haiti. "We have a very short window to support this team of the Haitian people's choosing," he said. Penn spends around half of his time in Haiti and Udo Janz, the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees said that the award was his "Oscar for (his) humanitarian commitment."