Reports have emerged about three Indians being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year — AltNews co-founders Pratik Sinha and Mohammad Zubair and Harsh Mander, along with the campaign he launched in 2017, Karwan-e-Mohabbat (‘Caravan of Love’).
However, the fact is that nominations for any category of the Nobel prize cannot be revealed until fifty years have lapsed. That is part of the rule of the prize committee. “Neither the names of nominators nor of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize may be divulged until 50 years have elapsed,” says the official website of the Nobel Prize.
According to the website, there are 343 candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2022 out of which 251 are individuals and 92 are organisations. 343 candidates are more than last year (329) and this is the second highest number of candidates ever. The current record of 376 candidates was reached in 2016.
While the numbers are divulged, nominees are not. However, the names of Sinha, Zubair and Mander appeared on prominent portals as ‘wish list’ of people who would like to see certain individuals or organisations win. However, this is certainly not confirmation of the nomination.
WHAT IS THE NOMINATION PROCESS?
All living persons and active organisations or institutions are eligible candidates for the Nobel Peace Prize. What is considered a valid nomination is defined by the Nobel Foundation’s statutes. In order for a nomination to be valid, it must be submitted no later than January 31.
Members of the Nobel Committee may add further names to the list during their first meeting after the nomination process is closed. In 2022, the first meeting of the committee was held on February 28.
After all the qualified nominations have been discussed, a short-list of the most interesting and worthy candidates is created. The candidates on the short-list are then subject to assessments and examinations done by the Nobel Committee’s permanent advisers, together with other Norwegian or international experts.
ROLE OF PEACE RESEARCH INSTITUTE OSLO IN NOMINATIONS
Every year PRIO’s Director puts out a list of ‘worthy candidates’ for the Nobel peace prize. According to PRIO, “While PRIO’s Director is undoubtedly a relevant commentator on the issue, his shortlist neither confirms nor formally endorses any candidate, and is not in any way based on privileged access to the decision-making of the Norwegian Nobel Committee. Neither the Director, nor the Institute he leads, have any form of association with the Nobel Institute or the Norwegian Nobel Committee.”
However, PRIO directors have made it a tradition to offer their personal shortlists for the Peace Prize. Current director Henrik Urdal presented his fifth list since taking up the position of director in 2017.
The names given by Henrik Urdal for the list are: Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Alexei Navalny, International Court of Justice, Harsh Mander and Karwan-e-Mohabbat,Ilham Tohti, Agnes Chow and Nathan Law, HRDAG & CANVAS.
This year, Urdal’s list is topped by Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and Alexei Navalny. The list highlights pro-democracy efforts, multilateral cooperation, combating religious extremism and intolerance, and the value that research and knowledge can have for promoting peace.
While Harsh Mander has made it to his list, Pratik Sinha and Mohammad Zubair are not part of that list, albeit they could very well be a part of many wish lists and could have been nominated by individuals holding certain positions, as laid out in the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, who are eligible to nominate candidates.
The Nobel Committee selects each year’s laureate from a list of valid nominations received by February 1 that year. The announcement will be made on October 7.