Nobel peace prize 2022 awarded to human rights campaigners in Ukraine, Russia and Belarus – live

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This from Tanya Lokshina, Europe and Central Asia associate director at Human Rights Watch:

Asked whether the bestowing of the prize would “increase the risk for suppression and repression” of groups such as Memorial – and harm activists – Berit Reiss-Andersen said:

This is a dilemma the Nobel committee often faces and it is something we always consider and take into consideration very seriously. But we also have the point of view that the individuals behind these organisations, they have chosen to take a risk and pay a high price and show courage to fight for what they believe in. We are of course particularly concerned about Mr Bialiatski, who is detained under very hard conditions in a prison … and we do pray that this prize will not affect him negatively. But we hope it might boost his morale.

Nobel committee head says this year’s prize should not be seen as a response to Putin

This is what Berit Reiss-Andersen, the head of the Nobel committee, had to say when asked if this year’s choice of winners was “a timely birthday president” to Vladimir Putin on the Russian president’s 70th birthday:

This prize is not addressing President Putin, not for his birthday, or in any other sense – except that his government, as the government in Belarus, is representing an authoritarian government that is suppressing human rights activists. And the attention that Mr Putin has drawn on himself that is relevant in this context is the way civil society and human rights advocates are being suppressed. And that is what we would like to address with this prize. And we always give a prize for something and to somebody and not against anyone.

The press conference has just wrapped up.

Reiss-Andersen plays down suggestions that the choice of this year’s three winners is a pointed message to Vladimir Putin on the Russian president’s 70th birthday. The prize, she adds, is always given to someone for something and not “against someone”.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, the chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee, notes that all three of this year’s winners are “neighbours and civil society [groups] with a joint understanding of the values that they want to promote”.

Not surprisingly, the third winner of this year’s Nobel peace prize is a Ukrainian group:

The Center for Civil Liberties – awarded the 2022 #NobelPeacePrize – was founded for the purpose of advancing human rights and democracy in Ukraine. It has taken a stand to strengthen Ukrainian civil society and pressure the authorities to make Ukraine a full-fledged democracy.

After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the center has engaged in efforts to identify and document Russian war crimes against the Ukrainian population. The center is playing a pioneering role in holding guilty parties accountable for their crimes.

And more information from the committee on Memorial, the Russian human rights organisation that is one of this year’s three winners:

Memorial, @MemorialMoscow, was established in 1987 by human rights activists in the former Soviet Union who wanted to ensure that the victims of the communist regime’s oppression would never be forgotten.

Memorial is based on the notion that confronting past crimes is essential in preventing new ones. The organisation has also been standing at the forefront of efforts to combat militarism and promote human rights and government based on rule of law.

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

More here from the prize committee on the still-detained Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski, who has won this year’s peace prize:

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

He founded the organisation Viasna (Spring), @viasna96, in 1996. Viasna evolved into a broad-based human rights organisation that documented and protested against the authorities’ use of torture against political prisoners.

Government authorities have repeatedly sought to silence Ales Bialiatski. Since 2020, he is still detained without trial. Despite tremendous personal hardship, Mr Bialiatski has not yielded an inch in his fight for human rights and democracy in Belarus.

According to the awards committee:

This year’s 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 rights abuses and the abuse of power. Together they demonstrate the significance of civil society for peace and democracy.

This year’s winners are:

human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus

the Russian human rights organisation Memorial

the Ukrainian human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties