The only reason to feel cheerful about the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize is that it was not conferred on US President George W. Bush!
This year’s Nobel Peace award has been given to the UN nuclear watchdog Ð the International Atomic Energy Agency and its head Mohamed ElBaradei.
In 2001, the prestigious prize went to the United Nations and its chief, Kofi Annan.
The peace prize is seen as the most exciting of all the Nobel awards, since the whole of humanity is affected alike by global peace, stability and security and understands their value more than anything else.
The concept of peace especially in the present situation where wars, civil strife and acts of terrorism have overpowered the Charter of the United Nations, has taken on greater significance.
The UN Charter boldly declares among other things “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights É in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small.“
But under the present circumstances wherein humanity is being submerged by egregious wars, unrest, regional and sectarian violence thanks to the many failures of international organizations, the purpose of conferring on them or their chiefs top peace honors does not make much sense. Whether we like it or not, the credibility of international organizations is eroding and their performance is under a big question mark. To boost their work artificially does not collate with the objective for which the peace prize was established.
International organizations are established and funded by the community of nations. Heads of such organizations already have the honor of being in the top global jobs by virtue of the position they hold. They have all the trappings of money, mandate and membership to implement the tasks enjoined upon them.
By granting Alfred Nobel’s top peace honor on international bodies and their bosses, the action of the Swedish Nobel Prize Committee raises questions as to whether in this world of over six billion the Nobel panel is finding it difficult to identify peace activists in the real sense of the word.
Indeed the peace prize is becoming elitist by the year, with some exceptions!
There are people and non-government organizations, which for years have been selflessly, boldly and without any political ambitions striving for world peace and harmony. There are men and women the world over who courageously defy all odds and take up cudgels on behalf of equality, human dignity and freedom, at the cost of risking their own lives and that of their families. Many of them have devoted their whole lifetime under trying, difficult, challenging circumstances to promote peace, security and human rights for all. But they will pass into oblivion unrecognized and unsung since they work far away from the global media glare.
It appears that the Nobel Committee is not scouting the global arena carefully to identify the right people for the award. It is seriously wanting in its tasks.
The IAEA chief’s stance on the issue of nuclear non-proliferation, no doubt, cannot be ignored. He has often highlighted the double standards on the part of countries that have nuclear weapons but want to prevent others from acquiring nuclear technology. He has also preferred diplomacy to confrontation and has not succumbed to pressure from the US. But that’s the job of the nuclear watchdog chief under his mandate and he is not doing anything unusual as a peace activist.
Critics blame the IAEA of failing to prove conclusively whether or not Iran’s nuclear ambitions are peaceful, among other things. And opponents of civilian nuclear energy condemn the agency’s parallel commitment to civilian atomic power.
In the words of Greenpeace International, ElBaradei is both “nuclear policeman and nuclear salesman.“
As Hidankyo, a Japanese association representing survivors of the 1945 American atomic attacks said, the decision in Oslo was “very disappointing“ as the IAEA did not conduct “peace activities.“
The noble Alfred must be turning quite often in his grave over some of the Swedish academy’s choice of peace nominees!