The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organisation of survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, for its activism against nuclear weapons.
Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the award was made as the “taboo against the use of nuclear weapon is under pressure”.
The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday against a backdrop of devastating conflicts raging in the world, notably in the Middle East, Ukraine and Sudan.
Alfred Nobel stated in his will that the prize should be awarded for “the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses.”
Since 1901, 104 Nobel Peace Prizes have been awarded, mostly to individuals but also to organisations that have been seen to advance peace efforts.
Last year’s prize went to jailed Iranian activist Narges Mohammadi for her advocacy of women’s rights and democracy, and against the death penalty.
The Nobel prizes carry a cash award of 11 million Swedish kronor (£770,000).
Unlike the other Nobel prizes that are selected and announced in Stockholm, founder Alfred Nobel decreed the peace prize be decided and awarded in Oslo by the five-member Norwegian Nobel Committee.
The Nobel season ends on Monday with the announcement of the winner of the economics prize, formally known as the Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.