Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Ales Bialiatski, two organisations

Agencies | Stockholm       

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

The Nobel Peace Prize this year has been awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organisation Memorial and the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.

The winner was announced on Friday at the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, by Hans Ellegren, the Secretary General.

The award has, in the past, put a spotlight on groups and activists trying to prevent conflicts, alleviate hardship and protect human rights.

Thousands of people around the world are eligible to nominate candidates for the prize before the January 31 deadline, including members of parliament and cabinet ministers from all countries, former laureates and some university professors. This led to a total of 343 top-secret nominations this year.

The Nobel committee members are also free to submit their own choices during their first meeting — this year held shortly after the start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on February 24.

According to Sverre Lodgaard, researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI), the committee could also choose to not award the prize at all this year.

The last time it did so was 50 years ago.

Last year, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to two champions of press freedom — Maria Ressa of the Philippines, whose news outlet was under threat of being shut down, and Russia's Dmitry Muratov, whose media organisation has had its licence revoked.

These laureates have faced a tough time since receiving the prize, as they continue to fight for the survival of their news organisations, defying government efforts to silence them.

A week of Nobel Prize announcements kicked off on Monday with Swedish scientist Svante Pääbo receiving the award in medicine on Monday, for unlocking secrets of Neanderthal DNA that provided key insights into our immune system. This was followed by prizes for Physics, Chemistry, Literature, and today's Peace Prize.

The awards conclude with the announcement of the Economics prize on Monday, October 10.