‘Champions of Peace’: Rights Activists Receive Nobel Peace Prize

Natalie Portman
By Natalie Portman 6 Min Read
origin 1Oleksandra Matviychuk, representative of the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), speaks at the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. This year’s Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Saturday in Oslo to human rights activists from from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine. The president of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), Olexandra Matviychuk, and the head of the Russian human rights organization Memorial, Rachinsky, accepted the awards in person. Javad Parsa/POOL NTB/dpa

Human rights activists from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus were called “champions of peace” on Saturday when they took possession of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo.

The Russian human rights organization Memorial, now banned; the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) in Kiev; and imprisoned Belarusian human rights lawyer Ales Bialiatski, head of human rights organization Viasna, were awarded the world’s top political award. They had been announced as award winners in October.

The choice of this year’s honorees was seen as a denunciation of the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.

CCL President Oleksandra Romantsova and Memorial leader Yan Rachinsky were able to personally collect the medals and diplomas in the Olso Town Hall. Bialiatski, who had been in prison for a year and a half, was represented by his wife, Natalia Pinchuk.

The laureates were honored for their many years of work criticizing those in power and defending essential civil rights. The groups have gone to great lengths to document war crimes, human rights violations and abuses of power, the award jury said.

“Together, they demonstrate the importance of civil society for peace and democracy,” said Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee.

Referring to her imprisoned husband, Pinchuk said: “Ales and all of us recognize how important and risky it is to fulfill the mission of human rights defenders, especially at the tragic moment of Russian aggression against Ukraine.”

Pinchuk said that thousands of Belarusians are being oppressed and unjustly imprisoned, while hundreds of thousands are forced to flee to live in a democratic state.

“In my homeland, the whole of Belarus is in a prison,” she said on behalf of her husband, adding that the award gives all Belarusians hope that they can count on the solidarity of the democratic world.

Romansova, leader of the Ukrainian Center for Civil Liberties, said in her speech that “peace, progress and human rights are inextricably linked”.

A state that kills journalists, jails activists and disperses peaceful demonstrations is a threat to peace around the world, Romansova said.

“The Ukrainian people want peace more than anyone else in the world. But peace cannot be achieved by a country under attack laying down its arms,” ​​Romansova said, referring to the bloody Russian invasion of her country. “This would not be peace, but occupation.”

Rachinsky, the Russian leader of Memorial, said the award has great symbolic significance for the group: “It underlines that state borders cannot and should not divide civil society.”

He also questioned, however, whether Memorial really deserved the award in light of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

“Aside from modesty, we’ve done a lot and accomplished more than a little,” Rachinsky said. “But did our work prevent the catastrophe of February 24?”

Memorial, an internationally recognized group, was disbanded last year on orders from Russian authorities, for allegedly violating the law by refusing to bear the title of “foreign agent” imposed by the Kremlin.

During Rachinsky’s speech, Norwegian Crown Princess Mette-Marit was close to tears.

The awards go back to the inventor of dynamite, Alfred Nobel (1833-1896). The awards are formally presented on the anniversary of his death, 10 December.

The Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Oslo, while all other Nobel Prizes are presented in Stockholm. This year, the prize is endowed with 10 million SEK (about $969,000).

origin 1(LR) King Harald V of Norway, Sonja, Queen of Norway, Crown Princess Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway attend the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize award ceremony at Oslo City Hall. The Civil Liberties Center will receive the award together with Russian human rights organization Memorial and imprisoned human rights lawyer Bjalyazki from Belarus, whose award will be accepted by his wife Natalya. Rodrigo Freitas//dpa
origin 1Jan Ratschinski, representing the Russian Memorial organisation, gives his Nobel lecture during the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall. Human rights activists from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine received this year’s Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo on Saturday. The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded them for standing up for essential civil rights. The award was seen as a sharp rebuke to Putin’s authoritarian rule. Rodrigo Freitas//dpa
origin 1(LR) Oleksandra Matvitsuk, representing the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties, Jan Ratshinsky, representing the Russian organization Memorial, and Natalya Pinchuk, representing her husband, human rights lawyer Ales Bjalyazki of Belarus, collect the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize at Oslo City Hall. Javad Parsa/POOL NTB/dpa

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