https://www.prio.org/news/3009

The 2023 shortlist comprises of:

1. Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj
2. Kyaw Moe Tun and Myanmar's National Unity Consultative Council
3. The International Court of Justice
4. Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Juan Carlos Jintiach
5. Human Rights Data Analysis Group

"History has shown us that respect for human rights is intrinsically linked to peaceful societies. The non-violent struggle for human rights is therefore a valuable contribution to peace and stability, and an advancement of the 'fellowship among nations' as stipulated by Alfred Nobel in his will. As this year marks the 75^th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, my Nobel shortlist reflects a timely and worthy focus on human rights defenders and activists," said Henrik Urdal.

Each year, PRIO's director presents his own shortlist for the Nobel Peace Prize. He offers his opinion on the most worthy potential laureates, based on his independent assessment. The PRIO director's view on potential and worthy Nobel Peace Prize laureates is widely recognized and has been offered since 2002. Henrik Urdal presents here his sixth list since taking up the position of director in 2017.

Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj

Oppressive regimes in Iran and Afghanistan have drastically reversed women's rights in the past year, from executing Iranian youths for protesting gender inequality, to banning Afghan women attending university. Research shows that more gender-equal societies are more peaceful. If the Nobel Committee would like to shine a spotlight on the non-violent struggle for human rights as a contribution to peace, Narges Mohammadi and Mahbouba Seraj are highly deserving nominees to share the prize, based on their tireless efforts to improve women's rights in Iran and Afghanistan.

Narges Mohammadi is a leading Iranian human rights activist and journalist who has campaigned for women's rights and the abolition of the death penalty. She has spent multiple periods in prison in Iran and is currently serving a long prison sentence for charges including spreading 'propaganda against the state'. Her imprisonment has been internationally denounced. Mohammadi is deputy head of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, which is led by the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Shirin Ebadi. She was also elected President of the Executive Committee of the National Council of Peace in Iran.

Mahbouba Seraj is a prominent Afghan journalist and women's rights activist. After 26 years in exile, she returned to Afghanistan in 2003, and is now based in Kabul. She is a champion of children's health, education, fighting corruption and empowering survivors of domestic abuse. She is also the founder of the nonprofit Afghan Women's Network and the Organization for Research in Peace and Solidarity, and has pushed for women's participation in the Peace Jirga and the High Peace Council.

Kyaw Moe Tun and Myanmar's National Unity Consultative Council

Since the coup d'état on 1 February 2021, Myanmar's military has reportedly killed over 2,800 people and detained more than 17,400. The UN has stated that the military brutality against the population amounts to crimes against humanity and possible war crimes. For their efforts to inclusively work for peace and democracy, and to end the violence by the security forces, Myanmar's representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) would be worthy recipients of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun denounced the military coup soon after it occurred, calling on states not to recognize or legitimize the junta. Since then, he has represented the people of Myanmar in the UN on behalf of the National Unity Government that was formed by elected members of parliament, representatives of various ethnic groups and civil society leaders. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has used his position to convey the voices of the Myanmar people to the international community.

The NUCC aims to end all forms of dictatorship and to build a federal democratic union in Myanmar that fully guarantees democracy, national equality and self-determination. It is an inclusive body with representatives from elected members of parliament, political parties, civil society organizations, officials from the civil disobedience movement and strike organizations, and ethnic resistance organizations.

International Court of Justice

Mechanisms for peaceful resolution of conflicts between states are particularly important to maintain and support peace in an increasingly polarized world. The International Court of Justice (ICJ)  promotes peace through international law, akin to promoting peace congresses, another achievement highlighted in Alfred Nobel's will. The ICJ would be a worthy recipient of the 2023 Peace Prize should the Nobel Committee wish to recognize the importance of multilateral collaboration for peaceful relations.

The ICJ was established in 1945 by the Charter of the UN to settle legal disputes between states and advise on legal questions within the UN. With all 193 UN member states party to the ICJ Statute, the Court has become a globally accepted multilateral mechanism for dispute resolution. While a Nobel Peace Prize to the ICJ would largely be seen as uncontroversial, the Court acted boldly and early on 16 March 2022 by ordering Russia to 'immediately suspend the military operations' in Ukraine. The Nobel Committee could emphasize this ruling as an attempt to stop an illegal war of aggression.

Other potential candidates for a prize focused on peace through international law are the International Criminal Court (ICC), or regional bodies such as the European Court for Human Rights or the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.

Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Juan Carlos Jintiach

Discrimination and injustice against indigenous peoples stokes tensions between communities that can lead to violence and armed conflict. The non-violent struggle to protect and strengthen the rights of indigenous peoples is a laudable rationale for being awarded the Peace Prize. Two worthy campaigners for the rights of indigenous peoples are Victoria Tauli-Corpuz and Juan Carlos Jintiach. This would also be an environmental prize for conservation action and the fight against climate change.

Philippine-born indigenous rights activist Victoria Tauli-Corpuz has worked for many years to advance the rights of indigenous peoples across the world. She served as the Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and as the UN Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. Tauli-Corpuz founded and heads Tebtebba, the Indigenous Peoples' International Centre for Policy Research and Education. She has also worked extensively with tropical forest conservation and against destructive development projects, climate change, social justice issues and the advancement of indigenous peoples' and women's rights.

Similarly, the Ecuadorian indigenous leader Juan Carlos Jintiach has played a key role in elevating the voices of indigenous peoples. He is a democratically elected leader of COICA (the federation representing Indigenous organizations in the Amazon Basin) and an active member of multiple indigenous rights groups. He served as the co-chair of the global indigenous caucus in the international indigenous forum on climate change within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Jintiach has worked to connect the concerns of communities on the ground with global policy arenas, and has served as a consensus-building voice among these actors.

Human Rights Data Analysis Group

Research and knowledge can play an important role in promoting peace. A Nobel Peace Prize for organizations working to mobilize research and education in the service of preventing conflict would highlight the importance of truth-seeking and facts in the face of the propagation of divisive disinformation.

One such organization that would be a worthy recipient of a Nobel Peace Prize is the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG). Based in the United States, HRDAG systematically documents and analyses data on human rights abuses. Founded by Patrick Ball, the organization aims to promote accountability for human rights violations through rigorous, non-partisan science.

Other worthy candidates for a prize focused on documenting human rights violations include the research agency Forensic Architecture, and the investigative journalism groups Bellingcat and Lighthouse Reports.
 

Background on the Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize is arguably the most prestigious prize in the world. It is awarded annually by the Norwegian Nobel Committee to persons or organizations for their efforts to promote peace. The Norwegian Nobel Committee bases its decision on valid nominations received by the 31 January deadline. Anyone can be nominated. Indeed, history has presented us with a few rather dubious nominees, including Hitler. The right to nominate is reserved for members of national assemblies and governments, current and former members of the Committee, Peace Prize laureates, professors of certain disciplines, directors of peace research and foreign policy institutes, and members of international courts.

The five committee members have until their first meeting after the deadline to add nominations of their own. Urdal abstains from using his right to nominate, given his active role in commenting on the prize. He has no association with the Nobel Institute or the Norwegian Nobel Committee. The laureate will be announced in October.

More information

• To arrange an interview with PRIO's Director, Henrik Urdal, please contact Communication Director, Michelle Delaney. Mobile: +47 941 65 579; email: michelle@prio.org.
   
• A list of previous shortlists for the Nobel Peace Prize are available at the PRIO website.
   
• More information about PRIO's Director, Henrik Urdal, is available at his profile on the PRIO website.

About PRIO

The Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) conducts research on the conditions for peaceful relations between states, groups and people.

Researchers at PRIO seek to understand the processes that bring societies together or split them apart. We explore how conflicts erupt and how they can be resolved; we investigate how different kinds of violence affect people; and we examine how societies tackle crises – and the threat of crisis. We document general trends, seek to understand processes, and inform concrete responses.

PRIO is committed to academic excellence. We aim to develop theoretical insights, refine research methodologies, and communicate our findings widely. We see this academic excellence as paramount to having a meaningful impact on society.

Research at PRIO is financed on a project basis by a range of scientific and policy-oriented funders. The institute is an independent foundation, international in its orientation, with an extensive network of collaborators worldwide.

• PRIO Strategy Document 2022–2025 (.pdf)
• Annual Reports
• PRIO Board
• Nobel Peace Prize Shortlist
• Sources of Income
• PRIO Statutes (.pdf)
• PRIO Gender Equality and Diversity Action Plan 2022–2025

Founded in 1959, the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) is an independent research institution known for its effective synergy of basic and policy-relevant research. In addition to such research, PRIO conducts graduate training and is engaged in the promotion of peace through conflict resolution, dialogue and reconciliation, public information and policymaking activities. The Institute’s working language is English.

People at PRIO

PRIO has an international staff of approximately 75 (counted in person-years), of which more than 50 are researchers, including doctoral candidates. The institute maintains an administrative/support staff of 15. Within the Norwegian setting, PRIO staff stand out for their high levels of professionalism and their academic productivity. The Institute’s governing board consists of five external appointees and two staff members. PRIO is an equal opportunities employer and values staff diversity.

Research at PRIO

Research at the Institute is multidisciplinary and concentrates both on the driving forces behind violent conflict and on ways in which peace can be built, maintained and spread. Projects carried out at the Institute are organized within thematic research groups, and researchers at PRIO are in addition organized in three departments and the PRIO Cyprus Centre. From 2002 through 2012, PRIO hosted the Centre for the Study of Civil War (CSCW), a long-term, interdisciplinary initiative that was awarded Centre of Excellence status and core funding by the Research Council of Norway. The diversity of disciplines at PRIO creates a thriving research community that attracts both scholars and funding from around the world.

Journals at PRIO

The Institute owns and hosts the editorial offices of two international peer-reviewed journals – Journal of Peace Research and Security Dialogue – both of which are edited at PRIO and published by Sage Publications in London. In addition, PRIO houses the editors of International Area Studies Review and the Journal of Military Ethics. The Institute also publishes reports and policy briefs. Institute researchers maintain high levels of productivity in the form of peer-reviewed articles in top international journals and books with reputable academic publishers.

Research and Engagement

At PRIO, academic research and engagement in peace processes go hand in hand: all peacebuilding engagements are rooted in solid research competence and feed into ongoing research – and ultimately to published academic work. The Institute’s policy-relevant findings are in high demand among international bodies (the UN, the World Bank), NGOs, the media and governments, including a number of Norwegian ministries.

Oslo and Nicosia

The Institute is located in modern research facilities in central Oslo. It maintains a separate office in Nicosia: the PRIO Cyprus Centre (PCC). The PCC is committed to research and dialogue aimed at contributing to an informed public debate on key issues relevant to an eventual settlement of the Cyprus problem. Researchers attached to the PCC include both Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots.

Economy and Funders

Budgeted turnover for PRIO as a whole in 2016 is approximately 120 million Norwegian kroner (equivalent to roughly €13 million or $16 million). The Institute has a bottom-up and project-based budget model, where all research engagements depend on the acquisition of external funding. PRIO staff are skilled at combining research innovation with project-development initiative. Major sources of funding include the Research Council of Norway, Norwegian government ministries, the European Commission and a variety of international organizations and foundations.