The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) or the International Court of Justice (ICJ) may receive the peace prize this year, according to the peace research institute Prio and the Norwegian Peace Council.
– It could be perceived as a controversial award, but at the same time a humanitarian award, says director Henrik Urdal in Prio to NTB about a possible award to UNRWA.
Disputed topics will be addressed more indirectly if the International Criminal Court is chosen, he points out.
– Such an award will emphasize that international law is upheld, says Urdal, who believes that it can still be clearly linked to the situation in both Ukraine and Gaza.
Out of the question to drop the price
Despite the gloomy world view, the Nobel Committee’s leader Jørgen Watne Frydnes is clear that the Nobel Committee will still award a prize this year.
It has happened that the peace prize has not been awarded because the Nobel committee has not found a worthy winner among the nominees. The last time that happened was in 1972.
– That discussion is an ingrained part every single year, but I can say quite clearly that we have had a number of very good nominated candidates this year. So it was not difficult to choose that the prize should be awarded, says Frydnes to NTB.
Believe in the institution of democracy
Every year, Prio presents a list of candidates to win the Nobel Peace Prize. This year, ODIHR – the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, a department of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), is at the top.
With its main base in Warsaw, ODIHR provides assistance to member states to promote democracy, the rule of law, human rights, tolerance and non-discrimination.
ODIHR also sends observer corps to monitor elections in a number of countries.
– It is very important to draw attention to election observers this year, a year with many major elections, so this would be an award that could nod in several directions at the same time – and an award that will stand up very well, says Urdal.
– Ask if it will be too sensitive
The Peace Council, for its part, is holding a button on the Stop Killer Robots campaign, according to chairman Eline Lorentzen. The fight against autonomous weapon systems is highly topical, she argues.
– The technological development of such weapons systems poses a major threat to global security. If the prize were to go to the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, it would recognize both what is happening in Ukraine and in the Middle East – but there is also the question of whether it will be too sensitive, says Lorentzen to NTB.
Like Prio, the Peace Council also has the ICJ on its list of most relevant candidates.
– The ICJ has a key role in promoting peace by resolving international conflicts in a fair manner. Their decisions related to both Ukraine and Gaza have shown how important international law is to ensure international peace and stability. We believe that the ICJ’s work to enforce the law will be strongly considered in 2024, says Lorentzen.
The people’s favorite cannot win
Many are tipping Alexei Navalny as this year’s peace prize winner – despite the fact that it is impossible for him to win it.
Navalny tops the bookmakers’ lists ahead of the Nobel Peace Prize being announced on Friday. The Russian regime critic has the lowest odds, which means that he is considered the most likely candidate.
But Navalny died in February this year, so he cannot receive the award. According to the Nobel Institute’s criteria, it is not possible to award someone the Peace Prize posthumously. Former UN Secretary-General Dag Hammarskjöld is the only person to have received the Peace Prize posthumously. It happened in 1961.
It has indeed happened on a couple of occasions that a Nobel laureate has been awarded the prize posthumously, but then the candidate has passed away in the period between the announcement in October and the award ceremony itself in December.
Disagree about a possible Europe-focused peace prize
The Norwegian Peace Council still has Navalny on its top 5 list of current candidates.
– We are aware of the criteria, but we still believe that his work will be able to be promoted. Perhaps through the work of his wife Julia Navalnaja or in another indirect way, says chairman Eline Lorentzen to NTB.
The Prio director does not believe in such a price. He also believes that it is not likely that there will be a Europe-focused peace prize this time.
– We had a so-called Ukraine prize just two years ago where human rights defenders from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus shared the prize, he says.
#Peace #Council #uncertainty #peace #price #long #time
