John Adoyi, PBA Journalism Mentee
Ales Bialiatski a human rights advocate from Belarus, organisation Memorial from Russia and Ukrainian human rights group, Center for Civil Liberties have been awarded 2022 Nobel Peace Prize for representing civil societies in their countries and promoting human rights.
Announcing the Prize on Friday in Norway, the Nobel Prize committee said the human rights activist and the two organisations from Ukraine and Russia “have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power.”
Join our WhatsApp ChannelThe committee added that “together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.”
The Nobel Prize for Peace is the fifth prize that has been awarded this year.
Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, Physics, Chemistry and Literature have been awarded in the past few days from Monday to Thursday respectively.
The Prize for peace this year is being awarded to citizens and organisations whose focus are on the conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
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Though this award is being seen as a swipe at Russia for their campaign in Neighboring Ukraine and it coincidentally, falls on the birthday of Russian President, Vladimir Putin, the chairperson of the committee in Oslo, Norway, Reiss-Andersen denied any of such happenings saying, “This prize is not addressing President Putin, not for his birthday, or in any other sense — except that his government, as the government in Belarus, is representing an authoritarian government that is suppressing human rights activists,” she said, adding that the committee awards the prize “for something and to somebody and not against anyone.”
Ales Bialiatski is currently serving a second time jail in Belarus for his movement against the election of 2020 that witnessed massive rigging in the country.
“Ales Bialiatski was one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s. He has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development in his home country,” the committee said.
Ales Bialiatski also founded an organisation called Viasna (Spring) in 1996 to challenge the controversial constitutional change in Belarus which gave the president dictatorial powers, leading to wide protest that got people into jail.
The committee said “Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families.”
“Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners,” the committee added.
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and human rights advocate Svetlana Gannushkina, joined other rights advocate to establish the Organisation memorial in the formal Soviet Union (USSR) in 1987.
Their aim was to keep alive the memory of pains and sufferings of people under the communist regime that fell in 1990.
Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones.
The committee said Memorial “has been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law.”
The Center for Civil Liberties was founded in Kyiv in 2007 for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. The center has taken a stand to strengthen Ukraine’s civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy.
They have been fully involved in the documentation of crimes against humanity committed by Russia in Ukraine since the war started in February.
Drawing a conclusion to their statement, the Nobel Prize committee said Alfred Nobel (the Swedish inventor and industrialist that bequeathed the legacy), has been honored by this year’s winners of the Nobel Prize for Peace because their efforts have helped maintained peace and promote principles of rule of law in their countries.
“Through their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations – a vision most needed in the world today,” the committee concluded.
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This year’s Nobel Peace Prize winners now join a list of great people who have been awarded the Prize in the past.
Last year’s prize was awarded to journalists Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their “efforts to safeguard freedom of expression” in the Philippines and Russia.
Since the inception of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 110 individuals including 18 women and 27 organisations have won the Prize.
Previous winners include the formal president of the United States of America, Barack Obama, Nelson Mandela and formal president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
The prize consists of a medal, a personal diploma, and cash amount of 10 million Swedish krona about $900,000.
