Nobel Peace Prize 2022 nominees include Myanmar’s shadow government
- Thousands of people, from members of parliaments worldwide to former winners, are eligible to propose candidates
- Joint winners of the 2021 prize were Filipina Maria Ressa and Russian Dmitry Muratov, both journalists, for their efforts to ‘safeguard freedom of expression’
The Myanmar National Unity Government, the shadow government formed last year by opponents of military rule after civilian leader and former peace prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi was detained in a coup, is among the nominees for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
The World Health Organization, Belarusian dissident Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and British nature broadcaster David Attenborough, are also candidates after being backed by Norwegian lawmakers who have a track record of picking the winner.
Other candidates for the accolade include Greta Thunberg, Pope Francis and Tuvalu’s foreign minister Simon Kofe, last-minute announcements showed. Thousands of people, from members of parliaments worldwide to former winners, are eligible to propose candidates.
Norwegian lawmakers have nominated an eventual Peace laureate every year since 2014 – with the exception of 2019 – including one of the two laureates last year, Maria Ressa.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides who wins the award, does not comment on nominations, keeping secret for 50 years the names of nominators and unsuccessful nominees. However, some nominators like Norwegian lawmakers choose to reveal their picks.