Human rights activists in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus win Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize 2022 went to jailed Belarus rights activist Ales Bialiatski, the Russian group Memorial and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties, the award’s judges said Friday, report AFP.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the judges wanted to honour “three outstanding champions of human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the neighbouring countries Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.”

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

Ales Bialiatski, one of the initiators of the democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s, has devoted his life to promoting democracy and peaceful development.

He founded the Viasna (Spring) organization in 1996 following the controversial constitutional amendments that gave the president dictatorial powers and that triggered widespread demonstrations. Viasna provided support for the jailed demonstrators and their families. Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners.

Bialiatski was imprisoned from 2011 to 2014 and was again arrested in 2020 following large-scale demonstrations against the regime. He is still detained without trial.

In Russia, Memorial grew to become the largest human rights organisation after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Memorial compiled and systematised information on political oppression and human rights violations being the most authoritative source of information on political prisoners in Russian detention facilities.

It gathered and verified information on abuses and war crimes perpetrated on the civilian population by Russian and pro-Russian forces during the Chechen wars. In 2009, Natalia Estemirova, the head of Memorial’s branch in Chechnya, was killed because of this work.

The organisation was stamped early on as a “foreign agent” as part of the government’s harassment of Memorial. The authorities decided that Memorial was to be forcibly liquidated and the documentation centre was to be closed permanently in December last year. But the people behind Memorial refused to be shut down and closures became effective in the following months.

The other winner, Center for Civil Liberties, was founded in Kyiv in 2007 to advance human rights and democracy in Ukraine, taking a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy.

The organisation has actively advocated that Ukraine become affiliated with the International Criminal Court.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February this year, it has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian civilian population.

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 survival of their news organizations, defying government efforts to silence them

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

The prizes carry a cash award of 10 million Swedish kronor (nearly $900,000) and will be handed out on December 10. The money comes from a bequest left by the prize’s creator, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel, in 1895.