The Nobel Peace Prize 2018 is a Signal against War-Time Sexual Violence
The Nobel Peace Prize is the most important prize awarded by the Norwegian Nobel Committee. This year, it was awarded to two personalities for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.
Denis Mukwege, the “miracle doctor” of the Congo
Denis Mukwege
The Congolese physician Denis Mukwege is a gynaecologist. He is regarded as a leading expert in the treatment of injuries caused by gang rape. His involvement began in the mid-nineties, when the civil war raged in Congo. More and more women, who had become victims of sexual violence consulted him. In 1999 Denis Mukwege opened the Panzi Hospital for raped war victims. The hospital is located in Eastern Congo, where several militias are fighting for control of the mineral resources. At that time it was considered taboo to report on sexual violence. Since then he has treated thousands of women and children. His patients call him a “miracle doctor”, because many owe their survival to him or can lead a dignified existence despite terrible mutilations.
As a human rights activist, he is also politically active against sexual violence. In the Congo, he fights against the use of rape as a weapon of war. He has repeatedly condemmed impunity for mass rape and he has criticised the Congolese government for not taking action. He has also called for greater international commitment to ending the armed conflicts in Congo.
The Congolese government announced that it feels honoured by the award for a Congolese, but at the same time criticised Denis Mukwege for his political stance.
Nadia Murad fights against sexual enslavement
Nadia Murat
Denis Mukwege shares the Nobel Peace Prize with human rights activist Nadia Murad, member of the Yazidi. Nadia Murad is herself a victim of war crimes. She was enslaved and raped by the terrorist militia “Islamic State”. Nadia Murad refused to accept the social codes that require women to remain silent and ashamed of the abuses to which they have been subjected. She has shown uncommon courage in recounting her own sufferings and speaking up on behalf of other victims.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has recalled that “it is a decade since the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1820 (2008), which determined that the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict constitutes both a war crime and a threat to international peace and security. This is also set out in the Rome Statute of 1998, which governs the work of the International Criminal Court. The Statute establishes that sexual violence in war and armed conflict is a grave violation of international law. A more peaceful world can only be achieved if women and their fundamental rights and security are recognised and protected in war.”
Internationally, there was overwhelming support for the committee’s decision as well as for Mukwege and Murad. For both Nobel Peace Prize winners, the award on Friday came as a complete surprise: the jury had reached neither Mukwege nor Murad before the announcement.
