According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to the person who in the preceding year “shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses”.
Thousands of people, from members of parliaments, national governments and university professors worldwide to former winners and members of select international organizations can put names forward for the Nobel Peace Prize. Submission of nominations for this year’s prize had to be sent before today, February 1.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who wins the award, does not reveal names of nominators and unsuccessful nominees for 50 years.
However, some nominators choose to reveal their picks. This is how we know that among those nominated for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize are the World Health Organization (WHO) and its COVAX programme to secure fair access to COVID-19 vaccines for poor countries, Russian dissident Alexei Navalny for his “efforts for a peaceful democratization of Russia”, climate campaigner Greta Thunberg as one of “the foremost spokespeople in the fight against the climate crisis”, Belarusian activist Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya for her courage to fight for free elections in her country, the Black Lives Matter movement “for their struggle against racism and racially motivated violence,” former White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and his deputy, Avi Berkowitz, for their role in negotiating four normalization deals between Israel and Arab nations known as the “Abraham Accords”.
Among nominees from Central and Eastern Europe are Hungarian Helsinki Committee, a human rights group, and IUSTITIA, a group of Polish judges defending civil rights, both “for the fight to preserve democracy as a form of government in Europe”.
Further, Slovenian Prime Minister Jansa nominated Slovenian Madagascar-based missionary Pedro Opeka and his humanitarian organisation Akamasoa aiming to help the poorest living in rubbish dumps of Madagascar’s capital Antananarivo by providing them with jobs, financial independence and education, among other things.
Opeka, referred to as missionary of the garbage people, has dedicated his life to bring hope to the people on the margins of society and enable them to regain their dignity.
The 2021 laureate will be announced in October.
