– There is a lot of suffering to alleviate during the day, a lot of conflicts and little progress in peace work, says director Henrik Urdal at the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) to NTB.
Every year he presents a list of what he believes are possible and worthy 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.
Geneva Convention 75 years
In second and third place, he has Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms (EER) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
– Both of these are peace prize candidates who will pick up the legacy of the Geneva Convention, which this year has its 75th anniversary. The convention deals with, among other things, the protection of civilians in wartime, says Urdal.
EER is a network of community-based organizations with physical locations, offering aid, food and water in Sudan, where the war between the government army and the RSF militia continues to worsen the humanitarian crisis in the country.
Norway’s Peace Council thinks along the same lines, and has UNRWA at the top of its favorite list.
– We believe that the humanitarian situation in Gaza has influenced the discussions around this year’s award. UNRWA plays a critical role in delivering vital aid to millions of Palestinian refugees. A peace prize to UNRWA will be a powerful recognition of their work in the face of challenging political and economic situations, says chairman Eline Lorentzen.
International cooperation
Both PRIO and Norway’s Peace Council also involve the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague.
– 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.
In addition to the ICJ, Urdal has UNESCO and the Council of Europe on the tip list.
– The Nobel committee will probably be concerned with multilateral structures, because they are under pressure now that we have international polarization. Therefore, we think that giving a multilateral structure such as the ICJ peace prize could be relevant here.
Navalny with low odds
Last year, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy topped several of the bookmakers’ lists ahead of people such as Alexei Navalny and opposition leader Svetlana Tikhanovskaya in Belarus.
With the odds companies the now-deceased opposition politician Navalny has the lowest odds, i.e. the greatest chance of winning, even though there is no occasion to award the peace prize to dead people.
That does not prevent the Norwegian Peace Council from having Navalny in second place on the favorite list either.
The 47-year-old died in February in a Russian labor camp where he was serving a 19-year sentence for leading what the Russian authorities described as an extremist organization.
Technological threats and women’s struggle
The Peace Council has also set up the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, which works to prevent autonomous weapon systems from being used without human control.
It also considers Afghan Mahbouba Seraj a good candidate this year. As a human rights activist and journalist, she has been a strong voice for women’s rights in Afghanistan. Seraj has chosen to stay in his home country, even after the Taliban took back power there.
Zelenskyj and Tikhanovskaja are still on the odds lists, along with the Uyghur leader Ilham Tohti. Climate activist Greta Thunberg is also on the lists. This year’s more curious features include Bono from U2, nature frontman David Attenborough, US President Joe Biden, the Pope, the World Health Organization (WHO) and presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2024 will be announced at a press conference at the Nobel Institute Friday 11 October at 11
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2024-10-03 19:40:44
