The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize was today awarded to Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad for their contributions in fighting sexual violence in conflicts around the world. The prize was announced by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo, Norway.
After announcing the Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel committee chairwoman Berit Reiss-Andersen said that the pair won the award for their “efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war”. “A more peaceful world can only be achieved if women and their fundamental rights and security are recognized and protected in war,” she added.
Meanwhile, the Norwegian Nobel Committee in a statement said, “Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad have both put their personal security at risk by courageously combating war crimes and seeking justice for the victims.”
“They have thereby promoted the fraternity of nations through the application of principles of international law,” it added.
A total of 331 individuals and organizations were nominated for the prestigious peace award. The award will be presented at a ceremony in Oslo on December 10 this year, the anniversary of the 1896 death of prize creator Alfred Nobel, a Swedish philanthropist and scientist.
Notably, Dr Denis Mukwege is a Congolese gynaecologist and Nadia Murad is a Yazidi survivor of rape and captivity by ISIS.
Dr Denis Mukwege has treated victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for most of his adult life. A 63-year-old doctor also founded the Panzi Hospital in the year 1999, which supports survivors of sexual assault. Since then, he has treated tens of thousands of women for rape in Panzi Hospital. He is popularly known as “Doctor Miracle”.
On the other side, Nadia Murad herself is a victim of sexual war crimes. She is a member of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq and was taken captive by ISIS members who had launched an attack on her small village. She was held as a sex slave for three months before escaping from her captors.
In the year 2016, Nadia was named the UN’s first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking.
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