The Norwegian Nobel Institute is pictured in Oslo, Norway on September 25, 2024.
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Japanese atomic bomb survivor organization Nihon Hidankyo won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in recognition of the organization’s efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
“This grassroots movement of atomic bomb survivors from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, also known as Hibakusha, is receiving the peace prize for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons and for demonstrating through witness testimony that nuclear weapons must never be used again,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement.
The awards committee said that the grassroots movement, which was established in 1956 in response to the atomic bomb attacks of August 1945, had “worked tirelessly” to raise awareness about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using nuclear weapons.
“The extraordinary efforts of Nihon Hidankyo and other representatives of the Hibakusha have contributed greatly to the establishment of the nuclear taboo. It is therefore alarming that today this taboo against the use of nuclear weapons is under pressure,” the committee said.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute said 286 candidates were registered to be considered for this year’s prize, of which 197 were individuals and 89 were organizations.
Winners of the Nobel Prize typically receive 11 million Swedish krona ($1.06 million), although multiple winners share the sum.
Iranian human rights activist Narges Mohammadi received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 for “her fight against the oppression of women in Iran and her fight to promote human rights and freedom for all,” the awards committee said at the time.
Mohammadi, who is known for her work as deputy director and spokesperson of the Defenders of Human Rights Center, was reportedly sentenced in June to an additional year in prison over her activism.
Iran’s government did not acknowledge her additional sentencing at the time, according to The Associated Press.
The Defenders of the Human Rights Center is an organization that promotes human rights and advocates for free and fair elections and the due process of law. It was cofounded by Shirin Ebadi, the only other Iranian to have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
