Russia, Ukraine, Belarus human rights activists win Nobel

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to a pair of Ukrainian and Russian human rights groups and a jailed Belarusian human rights activist.

Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, the Russian human rights group Memorial and jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski were chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to share the award. The announcement came as Russia’s war in Ukraine is well into its seventh month.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the judges wanted to honor ”three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbor countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”

“Through their consistent efforts in favor of human values and anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalized and honored Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations, a vision most needed in the world today,” Reiss-Andersen told reporters in Oslo.

Bialiatski was one of the leaders of the democracy movement in Belarus in the mid-1980s and has continued to campaign for human rights and civil liberties in the authoritarian country. He founded the non-governmental organization Human Rights Center Vyasna and won the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel,” in 2020.

Bialiatski was detained following anti-government protests that year and remains in jail without trial.

“Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr. Bialiatski has not yielded one inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus,” Reiss-Andersen said, adding that the Nobel panel was calling on Belarusian authorities to release him.

She said the Nobel Committee was aware of the possibility that, by being awarded the prize, Bialiatski might face additional scrutiny from authorities in Belarus.

“But we also have the point of view that the individuals behind these organizations, they have chosen to take a risk and pay a high price and show courage to fight for what they believe in,” she said. “We do pray that this price will not affect him negatively, but we hope it might boost his morale.

Memorial was founded in the Soviet Union in 1987 to ensure that the victims of Communist repression would be remembered. It has continued to compile information on human rights abuses in Russia and tracked the fate of political prisoners in the country.

“The organization has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on the rule of law,” said Reiss-Andersen.

Asked whether the Nobel Committee was intentionally sending a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who turned 70 on Friday, Reiss-Andersen said that “we always give a prize for something and to somebody and not against anyone.”

“This prize is not addressing President Putin, not for his birthday or in any other sense, except that his government, as [is] the government in Belarus, is representing an authoritarian government that is suppressing human rights activists,” she said.

“The attention that Mr. Putin has drawn on himself that is relevant in this context is the way a civil society and human rights advocates are being suppressed,” she added. “And that is what we would like to address with this prize.”

Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties was founded in 2007 to promote human rights and democracy in the country during a period of turmoil.

“The center has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy, to develop Ukraine into a state governed by rule of law,” said Reiss-Andersen.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the group has worked to document Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.

“The center is playing a pioneering role with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable for their crimes,” said Reiss-Andersen.

A representative of the Center for Civil Liberties, Volodymyr Yavorskyi, said the award was important for the organization, because “for many years we worked in a country that was invisible.”

“This is a surprise for us,” he told the Associated Press. “But human rights activity is the main weapon against the war.”

She said the new laureates “have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens,” and have made “an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights, abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.”

The award follows a tradition of highlighting groups and activists trying to prevent conflicts, alleviate hardship and protect human rights.

Last year’s winners have faced a tough time since receiving the prize. Journalists Dmitry Muratov of Russia and Maria Ressa of the Philippines have been fighting for the survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to silence them.

They were honored last year for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

A week of Nobel Prize announcements kicked off Monday with Swedish scientist Svante Paabo receiving the award in medicine for unlocking secrets of Neanderthal DNA that provided key insights into our immune system.

Three scientists jointly won the prize in physics Tuesday. California scientist John F. Clauser, Frenchman Alain Aspect and Austrian Anton Zeilinger had shown that tiny particles can retain a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, which can be used for specialized computing and to encrypt information.

The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to Californians Carolyn R. Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless and Danish scientist Morten Meldal for developing a way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs able to target diseases such as cancer more precisely.

French author Annie Ernaux won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature Thursday. The panel commended her for blending fiction and autobiography in books that fearlessly mine her experiences as a working-class woman to explore life in France since the 1940s.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in the economics will be announced Monday.

The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to a pair of Ukrainian and Russian human rights groups and a jailed Belarusian human rights activist.

Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, the Russian human rights group Memorial and jailed Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski were chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to share the award. The announcement came as Russia’s war in Ukraine is well into its seventh month.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the judges wanted to honor ”three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful co-existence in the neighbor countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”

“Through their consistent efforts in favor of human values and anti-militarism and principles of law, this year’s laureates have revitalized and honored Alfred Nobel’s vision of peace and fraternity between nations, a vision most needed in the world today,” Reiss-Andersen told reporters in Oslo.

Bialiatski was one of the leaders of the democracy movement in Belarus in the mid-1980s and has continued to campaign for human rights and civil liberties in the authoritarian country. He founded the non-governmental organization Human Rights Center Vyasna and won the Right Livelihood Award, sometimes referred to as the “Alternative Nobel,” in 2020.

Bialiatski was detained following anti-government protests that year and remains in jail without trial.

“Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr. Bialiatski has not yielded one inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus,” Reiss-Andersen said, adding that the Nobel panel was calling on Belarusian authorities to release him.

She said the Nobel Committee was aware of the possibility that, by being awarded the prize, Bialiatski might face additional scrutiny from authorities in Belarus.

“But we also have the point of view that the individuals behind these organizations, they have chosen to take a risk and pay a high price and show courage to fight for what they believe in,” she said. “We do pray that this price will not affect him negatively, but we hope it might boost his morale.

Memorial was founded in the Soviet Union in 1987 to ensure that the victims of Communist repression would be remembered. It has continued to compile information on human rights abuses in Russia and tracked the fate of political prisoners in the country.

“The organization has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on the rule of law,” said Reiss-Andersen.

Asked whether the Nobel Committee was intentionally sending a signal to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who turned 70 on Friday, Reiss-Andersen said that “we always give a prize for something and to somebody and not against anyone.”

“This prize is not addressing President Putin, not for his birthday or in any other sense, except that his government, as [is] the government in Belarus, is representing an authoritarian government that is suppressing human rights activists,” she said.

“The attention that Mr. Putin has drawn on himself that is relevant in this context is the way a civil society and human rights advocates are being suppressed,” she added. “And that is what we would like to address with this prize.”

Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties was founded in 2007 to promote human rights and democracy in the country during a period of turmoil.

“The center has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy, to develop Ukraine into a state governed by rule of law,” said Reiss-Andersen.

Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February, the group has worked to document Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.

“The center is playing a pioneering role with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable for their crimes,” said Reiss-Andersen.

A representative of the Center for Civil Liberties, Volodymyr Yavorskyi, said the award was important for the organization, because “for many years we worked in a country that was invisible.”

“This is a surprise for us,” he told the Associated Press. “But human rights activity is the main weapon against the war.”

She said the new laureates “have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens,” and have made “an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human rights, abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.”

The award follows a tradition of highlighting groups and activists trying to prevent conflicts, alleviate hardship and protect human rights.

Last year’s winners have faced a tough time since receiving the prize. Journalists Dmitry Muratov of Russia and Maria Ressa of the Philippines have been fighting for the survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to silence them.

They were honored last year for “their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace.”

A week of Nobel Prize announcements kicked off Monday with Swedish scientist Svante Paabo receiving the award in medicine for unlocking secrets of Neanderthal DNA that provided key insights into our immune system.

Three scientists jointly won the prize in physics Tuesday. California scientist John F. Clauser, Frenchman Alain Aspect and Austrian Anton Zeilinger had shown that tiny particles can retain a connection with each other even when separated, a phenomenon known as quantum entanglement, which can be used for specialized computing and to encrypt information.

The Nobel Prize in chemistry was awarded Wednesday to Californians Carolyn R. Bertozzi and K. Barry Sharpless and Danish scientist Morten Meldal for developing a way of “snapping molecules together” that can be used to explore cells, map DNA and design drugs able to target diseases such as cancer more precisely.

French author Annie Ernaux won this year’s Nobel Prize in literature Thursday. The panel commended her for blending fiction and autobiography in books that fearlessly mine her experiences as a working-class woman to explore life in France since the 1940s.

The 2022 Nobel Prize in the economics will be announced Monday.