In a year of the coronavirus pandemic, military conflicts, democratic backsliding and accelerating climate change, Friday\u2019s announcement of this year\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize is being awaited as a chance to impart hope to a world in turmoil.<\/p>\n
From climate activists to political dissidents to international organizations, there is no shortage of causes or candidates for the Norwegian Nobel Committee to consider for what arguably remains the world\u2019s most prestigious prize.<\/p>\n
The committee in Oslo maintains absolute secrecy on who it favours as the person or group that has done the most to promote peace, but that has never stopped speculation ahead of the announcement.<\/p>\n
Guesses \u2014 and bets \u2014 this year have focused on Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, Russian dissident Alexei Navalny, recovering from a nerve agent attack he blames on Russian President Vladimir Putin, and the World Health Organization for its role in addressing the coronavirus pandemic.<\/p>\n
Even U.S. President Donald Trump seems to believe he deserves the prize, though one of the few predictions that pundits feel comfortable making is that he\u2019ll be disappointed.<\/p>\n
There are 318 candidates \u2014 211 individuals and 107 organizations. Nominations can be made by a select group, including national lawmakers, heads of state and certain international institutions.<\/p>\n
The deadline for nominations was Feb. 1, which means that those on the front lines of fighting COVID-19 \u2014 which was only declared a pandemic in March \u2014 appear unlikely contenders.<\/p>\n
Another blow to the WHO\u2019s chances comes from its perceived missteps early on in the pandemic, including praising Beijing for transparency at a time when China was hiding information about the virus first detected there.<\/p>\n
Every year the Peace Research Institute in Oslo, which is in the same city as the Nobel committee but is independent from it, produces a shortlist of worthy contenders that in 2018 and 2019 included the winners.<\/p>\n
This year\u2019s list is topped by the Committee to Protect Journalists, a watchdog that advocates for journalists in conflict zones and for press freedoms. The Oslo institute\u2019s director, Henrik Urdal, said picking the CPJ would send a strong message during a time of increasing disinformation and as press freedoms are \u201cbeing challenged across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others on Urdal\u2019s list include Reporters Without Borders, Navalny and his Anti-Corruption Foundation, as well as humans rights activists in Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Hong Kong and China. One of those is Ilham Tohti, a Uighur economist that China jailed for life in 2014.<\/p>\n
Dan Smith, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, believes that Thunberg stands a good chance for advocating for more urgency in fighting climate change.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I tend to think it would better if it went to a number of activists around the world, possibly including Greta Thunberg, but not by putting her on a pedestal by herself,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
He thinks that an organization, rather than a person, stands a good chance of winning this year.<\/p>\n
\u201cMany people feel the world is in rather bad shape. I think that the committee might be inclined to try to give a message of hope and the possibility of change, and one way to do that would be by giving the award to a movement or organization,\u201d Smith said.<\/p>\n
Smith suggests the peace prize could go to the United Nations, born to prevent another world war 75 years ago, and its director general Antonio Guterres, or to the U.N.\u2019s World Food Program, which has operations in 85 countries. He says the latter would highlight how food security is \u201cfoundational for peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
And what about Trump? He has been nominated more than once, including by an anti-immigrant Norwegian lawmaker in 2018 for efforts to bring reconciliation between North and South Korea. As nominations have no expiry date, in theory Trump could still receive the prize this year. The U.S. president has also been suggested for next year\u2019s prize for brokering a Middle East peace deal.<\/p>\n
Trump said last year he could win \u201cfor a lot of things if they gave (the prize) out fairly, which they don\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
Urdal, the Oslo institute director, says Trump would not qualify because he has pulled out of numerous international agreements meant to bring peace and stability to the world, including the Paris climate accord, disarmament agreements and the Iran nuclear deal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe chance that he is going to get the prize is absolutely zero,\u201d Urdal said.<\/p>\n
Along with enormous prestige, the prize comes with a 10-milion krona ($1.1 million) cash award and a gold medal to be handed out at a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 10, the anniversary of prize founder Alfred Nobel\u2019s death. This year\u2019s ceremony will be scaled down due to the pandemic.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In a year of the coronavirus pandemic, military conflicts, democratic backsliding and accelerating climate change, Friday\u2019s announcement of this year\u2019s Nobel Peace Prize is being awaited as a chance to impart hope to a world in turmoil. From climate activists to political dissidents to international organizations, there is no shortage of causes or candidates for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":28592,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[191],"class_list":{"0":"post-28590","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-all-news","8":"category-culture-and-art","9":"tag-culture-and-art"},"yoast_head":"\n