The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2018 is to be awarded to Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad “for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict”. Denis Mukwege is a physician devoted to helping the victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Nadia Murad, a member of the Yazidi minority in northern Iraq, is one of an estimated 3,000 Yazidi girls and women who have been victims of rape and other abuses by the IS army. She managed to flee and has since spoken openly about what she had suffered.
Comment from the Director of ÅIPI, Associate Professor Sia Spiliopoulou Åkermark:
“This award is a manifestation concerning crimes against human rights and humanitarian law, as well as regarding sexual violence as a weapon in armed conflict. It also highlights that minorities are often particularly vulnerable in conflict situations.”
