Honour bound: Marian Liebmann on finding a Nobel Prize nominee

‘Positive publicity can enhance the work.’

It was in his will that Alfred Nobel established the Nobel Peace Prize, specifying that it should go ‘to the person who shall have done 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.’ Fairly early in its history, the Norwegian Nobel Committee agreed that the award could be extended to organisations as well as to individuals. More recently, it has included contributions to the advancement of human rights and environmental sustainability.

In 1947, the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) and Friends Service Council (now Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW)) accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of all Quakers, for their peace work during world war two. Nobel laureates are allowed to nominate future winners, so AFSC set up the Nobel Peace Prize Nominating Task Group (NPPNTG) to discuss possible nominations from Quakers, and put forward a nomination each year. This, aside from the nomination, is also an opportunity to focus the world’s attention on the work of the organisations and individuals that exemplify Quaker values and principles. The positive publicity can enhance the work of the nominees. Each year the task group sends a name (or names) to the AFSC board, which then sends the nomination to the Nobel Committee in Oslo.

As co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, QPSW is represented on the NPPNTG, so I attend the meetings as a committee member. I am in my second year, so am still learning! My responsibilities include: liaising with QPSW and Quaker Central Committee in the UK; gathering nominations and invitations for submission from British Quakers and those who share our commitment to peace and justice; and ensuring that QPSW and Britain Yearly Meeting vet and approve the nominee.

So what are the criteria for nominating someone? Here are ours:

• the candidate’s commitment to nonviolent methods
• the quality of the candidate as a person and of her/his sustained contribution to peace
• the candidate’s work on issues of peace, justice, human dignity and the integrity of the environment
• the candidate’s possession of a worldview and/or global impact as opposed to a parochial concern.

Additional criteria involve:

• giving attention to candidates from all parts of the world
• offering valuable support to an organisation in highlighting its work
• the relevance of a candidate’s work to Quakers.

Recent candidates have included, for 2021, a joint nomination of Mwatana for Human Rights and the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT). Mwatana for Human Rights is a grassroots organisation working in Yemen to defend human rights in the conflict. It reports on healthcare, detention, and the impact of the conflict on education. The timing of the nomination was intended to draw attention to a judicial review that CAAT was conducting in the UK about arms trading with Saudi Arabia, to support protests in the US about renewed arms sales to the United Arab Emirates, and to highlight the misery and suffering of the Yemeni people in the proxy war being conducted in their country.

For 2022 our nominee was Miriam Were, a doctor from Kenya. This nomination drew attention to Were’s tireless work since the 1970s in promoting trust between governments, health authorities and the citizenry, through community health approaches and culturally sensitive programmes. These efforts helped the uptake of health initiatives among the most vulnerable people, including vaccination.

Our nomination for 2023 included two organisations working in similar fields, one in the US and the other in Kenya: the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, which campaigns for the rights of citizens disenfranchised after imprisonment; and the National Council of Churches in Kenya, which works to support the holding of peaceful, free, fair, and credible elections. These organisations were chosen for supporting the human right to representation by government, and working towards a better-organised and more peaceful world. We hoped this nomination would draw attention to threats to democracy, from voter suppression to interference with elections, which particularly impact those most affected by contemporary crises.

The NPPNTG does not always reach unity behind a single or joint candidate. This was the case in 2020 and again for this year, 2024. It is important to acknowledge differences in outlook among the committee – this is why we need such a committee. Sometimes circumstances also make it difficult to reach unity. This year we were inspired by several individuals and organisations working in two broad areas:

• healthcare workers providing aid in situations where peace and justice are absent
• those working for peace over long periods of time, in areas and at scales that receive little attention.

In both cases, the level of discernment required by our committee – and the research required to develop a compelling, evidence-backed nomination – were greater than we were able to accomplish within the Nobel annual timeframe. One factor in this was the turmoil following the events of 7 October in Israel – this brought several candidates to our attention but there wasn’t enough time to evaluate their contributions.

During 2024 we will continue to consider these names, but we also welcome further ones. If you wish to submit a candidate for 2025, please contact us, explaining how the candidate meets our criteria (please note, the candidate must be living). Submissions are accepted between February and 1 June each year, allowing time for research, study and discernment before submission by 31 January 2025. We hope there will be interest from British Quakers. If so, please submit your suggestions, with accompanying evidence, to: nobelclerk@afsc.org. For further information, see: http://quakernobel.org/criteria.

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