Nobel Peace Prize Awards, are they still going to take place?

ALTHOUGH there was some talk of cancelling this year’s Nobel Peace Prize Awards, due to the ongoing invasion of Ukraine and other smaller yet still deadly conflicts taking place, this was soon discounted.

The actual shortlist for those nominated is a closely kept secret which is not revealed until 50 years after the event but perhaps unsurprisingly, the 2022 Awards are associated with the Ukraine but not as directly as might have been expected.

One of the three recipients is the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties which was established in 2007 to promote human rights values and has played an important part in trying to gather support for Ukraine and the rights of its citizens following the invasion.

As an interesting side line, the team governing the organisation is almost exclusively made up of women, although this may be because so many male members have been conscripted or volunteered to fight.

Next on the list of recipients in a Russian organisation Memorial also dedicated to the support of human rights which was founded some 30 years ago in memory of the millions of Russians who suffered during the Soviet era.

Last of the Peace Prize winners is Ales Bialiatski, a human rights advocate from Belarus, an outspoken supporter of democracy and was for many years associated with the now banned Minsk based Viasna Human Rights Centre.

Bialiatski has been in jail since July 2021 having been found guilty of ‘tax evasion’.

Hopefully by the time next year’s Peace Prize is awarded the Ukrainian situation will be resolved and the current winners will have a greater measure of freedom.

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