The 2022 Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights organization Memorial, and the Ukrainian human rights organization Center for Civil Liberties, according to the Nobel Prize website.
“The Peace Prize laureates represent civil society in their home countries. They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens. They have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy,” according to the Nobel Prize’s press release.
The Center for Civil Liberties (CCL) was established in 2007 to promote human rights values.
“CCL is one of the leading actors in Ukraine, influencing the formation of public opinion and public policy, supporting the development of civic activism, and actively participating in international networks and solidarity actions to promote human rights in the OSCE region,” according to the organization’s website.
“On the one hand, I am pleased with the Nobel Peace Prize for a decent Ukrainian organization, the Center for Civil Liberties. On the other hand, the combination with Belarusians and Russians is inappropriate, because it actualizes the Russian myth of ‘the brotherly three peoples’ which is the basis of the current war against Ukraine,” wrote historian and ex-chair of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, Volodymyr Viatrovich.
“I understand that the award is not given to countries, but to people or organizations. But the fact that representatives of Russia, for the second year in a row (and precisely in the year when this country unleashed the largest conflict since the Second World War), received this award isn’t normal,” Viatrovych added.
