Nobel Peace Prize 2019 – who are the nominees and what’s the prize money?
THE Nobel Committee in Oslo will reveal who has won the Peace Prize 2019 on October 11. While it does not reveal who is actually in the running environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg is the favourite to scoop the prestigious award. Who are the main nominees? The prize is awarded to the person or organisation that […]
THE Nobel Committee in Oslo will reveal who has won the Peace Prize 2019 on October 11.
While it does not reveal who is actually in the running environmental campaigner Greta Thunberg is the favourite to scoop the prestigious award.
Who are the main nominees?
The prize is awarded to the person or organisation that is said to have done the most to promote world peace.
It was won last year by Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and human rights activist Nadia Murad for their campaign to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
While the Nobel Committee does not reveal its official list of nominations for the award this has not stopped speculation.
Here are the main candidates, according to the bookies.
Greta Thunberg
The 15-year-old environmental campaigner is the clear favourite with the bookmakers.
Her original campaign of a school strike outside the Swedish Parliament in August 2018 has now grown into a global cause and the teenager has made her mark on the world stage.
An estimated four million campaigners joined her global strike on September 20 this year with protests carried out around the world.
She addressed world leaders at the Climate Action Summit on September 23 where she condemned them for their lack of action in dealing with climate change.
However Greta Thunberg has also come under heavy criticism with some seeing her confrontational tactics as divisive and unhelpful.
Should she win, she would become the youngest ever person to receive the prize, beating Malala Yousafzai who was 17 when they won in 2014.
Abiy Ahmed
The Ethiopian Prime Minister hit the headlines in 2018 after he brought about an end to the 20 years of fighting between his country and Eritrea.
War had broken out over border disputes in 1998 after Eritrea had gained independence to Ethiopia five years before.
A tentative peace deal had been signed in December 2000 but tensions between the two remained high as Ethiopia disputed the border.
After Ahmed had taken office in April 2018, he released political prisoners and later signed a peace agreement with the Eritrean leader Isaias Afwerki in a deal that saw Ethiopia agree to the border.
He has also championed women in politics, electing females to half of the government’s 20 ministerial posts.
Jacinda Ardern
The Prime Minister of New Zealand came to the world’s attention due to her stance in the aftermath of the horrific attacks on two mosques in Christchurch in March this year.
The country was left devastated after 51 people were killed and dozens injured.
Jacinda Ardern was swift in her response and the country’s parliament passed gun control laws less than one month after the attack.
Most automatic and semi-automatic weapons as well as components that modify existing weapons were banned in an almost unanimous vote.
Raoni Metuktire
Raoni Metuktire, 89, is a Brazilian indigenous chief who has been campaigning most of his life against the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.
He was present at this year’s G7 Summit in August to discuss the rainforest with world leaders after a surge in fires destroyed large areas of the natural habitat.
Metuktire has been a vocal opponent to Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro and his continued exploitation of the Amazon for commercial purposes.
According to Time magazine, the rate of deforestation has risen by a sizeable 92 per cent since Bolsonaro came to power in January this year.
The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
The refugee agency was set up after World War II with the aim of helping displaced people fleeing war and persecution around the globe.
It previously received the prize in 1954 and 1984.
In July this year the UNHCR publicly aired its concern about the Trump administration’s new rules barring the majority of people crossing the southern US land border.
Reporters Without Borders
The campaign group aims to preserve media freedom and expression.
It campaigns to protect journalists around the world and attempts to highlight injustices towards them.
The group were vocal in their condemnation of Saudi Arabia after columnist Jamal Khashoggi was killed by Saudi operatives inside his country’s consulate in Turkey on October 2 last year.
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How much money do winners of a Nobel Prize receive?
The Nobel Committee hands out awards for several categories each year which mainly cover academic, cultural and scientific awards.
The prize was established by Alfred Nobel in 1895.
The prize ceremonies take place annually in Stockholm, Sweden, with the peace prize being the exception and it held in Oslo, Norway.
Each winner receives a gold medal, a diploma and a sum of money that has been decided by the Nobel Foundation.
As of 2017, each prize is worth about $1,110,000, (£836,000).
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