Nobel Peace Prize: Will Greta Thunberg, WHO or Jacinda Ardern win in 2020?

With the world beset by conflict and international disputes sparked by the coronavirus pandemic, it is perhaps not surprising that in 2020 there will be no obvious favorite for the Nobel Peace Prize.

The award, given in honor of the 19th century chemist and businessman Alfred Nobel, is arguably the most coveted of the annual awards that are also given for outstanding achievements in the fields of medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics. .

In bequeathing his fortune for the creation of the prizes, Alfred Nobel stipulated that they should be awarded to those who “during the previous year would have conferred the greatest benefit on humanity.

Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Mikhail Gorbachev, the Dalai Lama, and Anwar Sadat are just a few of the prominent historical figures who have become Nobel Peace Laureates.

This year there are 318 applicants, comprising 211 individuals and 107 organizations in the race for the award.

The Nobel panel has been reserved on its selection of honorees, but three favorites have emerged in recent weeks: climate change activist Greta Thunberg, the World Health Organization (WHO), and New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern. .

Greta thunberg

When the Nobel Peace Prize is announced, Greta Thunberg’s climate change strike will be in its 112th week.

His Friday for Future protest has helped, in two short years, boost public opinion on climate change.

Thunberg has become the face and voice of the campaign fighting for change in the face of the threat of the climate crisis.

At just 17 years old, Thunberg may qualify in a year in which a global pandemic is touted as a preview of the chaos that climate change will wreak.

The activist began her protest in August 2018 when she was 15 years old.

In recent years, he has addressed the UN, the United States Congress, the United Kingdom Parliament, spoken with heads of state and government, and met with other world leaders. She was Time Magazine’s Person of the Year 2019.

World Health Organization

Some experts have promoted the WHO as a possible winner of the 2020 prize due to the clear message that such a decision would send on the need for international unity in the face of the coronavirus pandemic.

While the Nobel Committee has not shied away from controversial decisions or policies in the past, a vote of confidence in the WHO at this time is a potentially risky move.

In the first instance, it may be too early for the committee to decide how well the organization has coped with the pandemic. The global health agency has not been universally praised for its handling of the virus, with the United States in particular criticizing the body.

Second, WHO is less likely to win the award for technical reasons than the others. Nominations for the award closed in early February, before Covid-19 began to have a global impact.

Jacinda ardern

The New Zealand Prime Minister was considered a possible winner of the 2019 Peace Prize for her handling of the Christchurch terror attacks.

Over the past year, his stocks may only have grown as he led New Zealand’s exemplary response to the coronavirus.

In the wake of the March 2019 lone wolf attacks on Friday prayers in Christchurch, Ardern emerged as a unifying figure in the country.

Since the coronavirus outbreak, New Zealand has been regularly praised for having one of the best, if not the best, record in fighting the disease in the world.

Last week, the country loosened its Covid-19 restrictions for the second time with new domestic Covid-19 cases falling to zero.

Even if the Nobel Prize is lost a second time, Ms Ardern can be content with a victory at the polls.

Ardern’s party is expected to win a major victory in the upcoming elections on October 17 and has a double-digit advantage over its rival.