Nobel Peace Prize 2022

October 7, 2022

On October 7, Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 has been conferred to human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, Ukrainian human rights organization named Center for Civil Liberties and Russian human rights organisation Memorial.

Key facts

With the Nobel Peace Prize being conferred to individuals or organizations from Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, implicit message is being sent about the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
These awardees have advocated for human rights, democracy and peaceful coexistence in the three neighbouring countries.
They have, for years, supported the right to criticize the political power and sought to safeguard the fundamental rights of citizens.
In addition, they played a major role in recording cases of human rights abuses, war crimes, and abuse of power.
Together, they have demonstrated the importance of civil society in safeguarding peace and democracy.

Who is Ales Bialiatski?

Ales Bialiatski instigated the democratic movement in Belarus in the mid-1980s. He founded the organization Viasna (Spring) in 1996 to oppose the controversial constitutional changes that gave Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko dictatorial powers. Over the years, this organization started recording and protesting against the government’s use of torture against political prisoners. Bialiatski was incarcerated recently for starting large-scale protest against the Lukashenko government in 2020 and still remains imprisoned without trail. In 2020, he received the Right Livelihood Award (Alternative Nobel) from Swedish Right Livelihood Foundation.

About Russian human rights organization Memorial

The Memorial was established in 1987 by human rights activitists of former USSR to commemorate the victims of the former communist regime’s oppression. As the largest human rights organization in Russia, it was involved in recording data on the political oppression and human right violations in the country. It is currently shut down and has been liquidated by the Russian Supreme Court.

About Center for Civil Liberties

Founded in 2007, the Center for Civil Liberties is working towards boosting democracy and human rights in Ukraine. It advocates for civic activism, public opinion, public policies and promotion of human rights. Following the Russian invasion, it is involved in the identification and documentation of Russian war crimes against civilians in war-hit Ukraine.

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