GUWAHATI: The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 winners were announced on Friday.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, Russian human rights organisation Memorial and Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties.
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This was informed by the Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes to honour three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbour countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”
“With their consistent efforts in favour of humanist values, anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureates have revitalised and honoured Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations – a vision most needed in the world today,” said Norwegian Nobel Committee.
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It added: “The Nobel Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They 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. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy,” said Norwegian Nobel Committee.
Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties
Ukrainian human rights organisation – Centre for Civil Liberties – awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize – was founded for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine.
“It has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy,” the committee said.
“After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the centre has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian population. The centre is playing a pioneering role in holding guilty parties accountable for their crimes,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
Russian human rights organisation Memorial
On the other hand, Russian human rights organisation Memorial was established in 1987 by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to ensure that the victims of the communist regime’s oppression would never be forgotten.
“Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones. The organisation has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
The committee added: “During the Chechen wars, Memorial gathered and verified information on abuses and war crimes perpetrated on the population by Russian and pro-Russian forces. In 2009, the head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, Natalia Estemirova, was killed because of this work.”
Ales Bialiatski from Belarus
Ales Bialiatski – awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize – 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 Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
“He founded the organisation Viasna (Spring) in 1996. Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners,” the committee said.
It added: “Government authorities have repeatedly sought to silence Ales Bialiatski. Since 2020, he is still detained without trial. Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus.”