Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski, and two organizations from Russia and Ukraine – Memorial and the Center for Civil Liberties – have won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022
. The winners were honored for “an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and the abuse of power” in their respective countries. “They have for many years promoted the right to criticise power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said. Their win comes seven months after Russia waged a full-scale war on Ukraine, with the assistance of Belarus.
” Memorial was founded in 1987 and, after the fall of the Soviet Union, became one of Russia’s most prominent human rights watchdogs. It has worked to expose the abuses and atrocities of the Stalinist era. The group was shut down by Russian courts in the past year, in a major blow to the country’s hollowed-out civil society organizations.