OSLO, Oct 1 (Reuters) – The U.S. president, Donald Trump, will not receive the Nobel Peace Prize this year, since he is at war with Iran, but his influence will still be felt by the committee that selects the laureate, according to experts.
The prize was awarded last year to Venezuelan María Corina Machado; it was unique in the 125-year history of the prize, occurring amid repeated pressure from Trump to secure the prize. Weeks later, Machado handed over her Nobel gold medal to Trump, in an attempt to win support for her efforts toward a democratic Venezuela.
This year, the five-member committee will be careful to choose someone capable of resisting Donald Trump’s pressure, according to Haakon Gjerloew, interim director of the Oslo Peace Research Institute.
“I think the events of last year around the Nobel Peace Prize, with María Corina Machado handing it to Trump subsequently, will affect some of the considerations they will make,” he told Reuters.
“One concern the committee may have is whether awarding the prize to someone could place them under pressure from Donald Trump… I think the committee will assess whether the prize does more harm than good.”
That could mean awarding the prize to Pope Leo, to the International Criminal Court, to the International Court of Justice, or to Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territories, according to experts. The announcement is scheduled for October 9.
Leo, the first pope born in the United States, said he would continue to speak out against the war after the president called him “weak” for criticizing the U.S. war with Iran.
The pope’s encyclical on AI, his advocacy of dialogue and peaceful resolution of conflicts, his calls for respect for immigrants and his humanitarian work could justify awarding the prize.
“The pope represents more than just a religious figure. He has stood out as an important intellectual leader,” Karim Haggag, director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told Reuters.
Italian Albanese has faced criticism from the United States and Israel for her criticisms of Israel’s conduct in the war against Hamas in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.
A SAFER CHOICE?
It is true that last year’s shocking events may have the opposite effect on the committee: opting for a safe and uncontroversial choice, less likely to antagonize Trump, who blamed Norway — where the prize is decided — for not awarding him the honor last time.
That could mean recognizing Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms — a Sudanese network of community groups that provided aid during the civil war — or the non-governmental organization Save the Children, for helping children in conflicts.
But the committee is also under scrutiny to face Trump’s challenges to the international order that the committee values, said Oeivind Stenersen, a historian who wrote about the Nobel Peace Prize.
“They are under some pressure… to be firm against Trump,” he told Reuters. “In this grave international situation, this year calls for a Peace Prize in defense of liberal democracy, international law and human rights.”
That could mean honoring the ICC at a moment when Washington is preparing broad sanctions against the global tribunal, according to sources, while awarding the prize to the ICJ would support respect for the sovereignty of nation-states and the peaceful resolution of disputes.
Trump would have been nominated by leaders of Cambodia, Israel and Pakistan, but his chances are “quite low,” according to Gjerloew.
Trump’s pressure on the Norwegian Nobel Committee surprised many, including Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa, a Filipino-American journalist, who said she watched last year’s events with “horror.”
“Bullies do not run the world,” she told Reuters during a visit to Oslo in September. “There are principles by which we govern ourselves. Power does not justify everything.”
