Nobel Peace Prize 2024 winner announced
Photo: Nobel Peace Prize 2024 winner announced (Getty Images)
The Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo has announced the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2024. The award was given to the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo, which unites survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, according to the Nobel Foundation.
About the Nobel Peace Prize winner
This mass movement, also known as Hibakusha, received the Peace Prize for its efforts to create a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through eyewitness accounts that nuclear weapons can never be used again.
A global movement emerged in response to the atomic bomb attacks in August 1945, and its members worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons.
Gradually, a powerful international norm appeared, stigmatizing the use of nuclear weapons as morally unacceptable. This norm was called the nuclear taboo. The testimony of the Hibakusha, the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is unique in this broader context.
These historical witnesses have helped to create and consolidate broad opposition to nuclear weapons around the world by drawing on personal stories, creating educational campaigns based on their own experiences, and issuing urgent warnings against the proliferation and use of nuclear weapons.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee wishes nevertheless to acknowledge one encouraging fact: No nuclear weapon has been used in war in nearly 80 years. The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo. It is therefore alarming that today this taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure,” the statement reads.
Nuclear attacks on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were carried out by the US Armed Forces under the presidency of Harry Truman at the end of World War II. On August 6, 1945, the Little Boy atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, and on August 9, the Fat Man was dropped on Nagasaki. These were two out of three cases of the use of nuclear weapons against civilians.
Who was among the candidates
Before the start of Nobel Week, bookmakers named Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who died in prison in early 2024, among the favorites for the Peace Prize.
Both have been mentioned as candidates for this prize for many years. But, as Reuters wrote, Zelenskyy was unlikely to win because he is the president of a country at war. Navalny cannot be awarded it either, as the Nobel Prize is not received posthumously.
The main favorites of bookmakers were the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), the International Court of Justice, and UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Who won last year's award
In 2023, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi. She was awarded for her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her struggle to defend human rights and freedom for all.
Mohammadi has been fighting for human rights in Iran for decades. For this reason, she has been in and out of prison for 20 years. She was arrested 13 times and sentenced to a total of 31 years in prison.
In 2022, the BBC included her in a list of 100 women worldwide who inspire and influence the world. In January 2023, she made a report from the prison detailing the conditions of detention of women in Evin Prison, including a list of 58 inmates, as well as the interrogation and torture they went through.
In September of this year, the international Free Narges Coalition called for the immediate release of the human rights activist. Her health condition has deteriorated significantly in recent months in an Iranian prison.
Nobel Week 2024
The Nobel Prizes, established by dynamite inventor Alfred Nobel in accordance with his will of 1895, have been awarded annually since 1901. The award is one of the most prestigious international prizes given for outstanding scientific research, revolutionary inventions, or significant contributions to culture or society.
The amount of the prize varies depending on the income of the Nobel Foundation. In 2024, it amounts to SEK 11 million (about $1.1 million). This year's Nobel Week started on October 7. The winners are already known in several fields, namely
Next Monday, October 14, the prize in Economics (officially known as the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel) will be announced.
