EU head of diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, is one of the 318 nominees for the Peace Nobel Prize that will be awarded in a ceremony held today (Friday, 6 October). Who will become the winner is kept secret by a convention that has been closely guarded for 50 years. Last year, the peace award went to Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos for his efforts to bring peace to his country after a 50-year-long conflict with rebel guerillas. Observers say that a prize in honor of non-proliferation efforts would be suitable for this year.
“The Nobel committee would make a big splash if it awarded the prize to the Iran nuclear deal,” commented Asle Sveen, a peace prize historian. He added that in this case, the prize could go to former US Secretary of State John Kerry, Federica Mogherini or Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif – the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal concluded between Iran and six world powers. Supporters of the deal say that under the deal, Iran cannot pursue an atomic bomb but the new US administration is skeptical and has threatened to tear it up, with US President Donald Trump calling the deal “an embarrassment”.
In the context of the ongoing dispute between the White House and North Korea over the rouge state’s nuclear weapons program, analysts think that non-proliferation should be supported and encouraged. “With North Korea also at stake, it’s very important to support initiatives that guard against the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons,” the head of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (Prio), Henrik Urdal, said.
Another potential laureate could be the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations, who lobbied for the adoption of a historic nuclear weapons ban agreement that was signed by 122 countries in summer. Syria’s “White Helmets” rescue service and Pope Francis are also believed to be on the list.
