Nobel Peace Prize 2018 as it happened: Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad win award for combating sexual violence

Pair win for ‘efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon’

Nobel Peace Prize 2018: Winners announced as Denis Mukwege and Nadia Murad

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad have won the 2018 Nobel peace prize.

Doctor Mukwege is a gynaecologist who has treated victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Ms Murad is a survivor of sexual slavery by Isis in Iraq.

The selection by the Nobel committee saw the pair beat favourite nominees including North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US president Donald Trump.

Read our rolling coverage in the blog below

According to Alfred Nobel’s will, the Peace Prize is awarded to the person who in the preceding year “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.”

 

Key Points

Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad win prize

[5 October 2018 08:17 · Harry.Cockburn]

Welcome to the Nobel Prize 2018 liveblog. We will be posting updates as we get them. Stay tuned.

[5 October 2018 08:22 · Harry.Cockburn]

[5 October 2018 08:33 · Harry.Cockburn]

Some of the nominees in the frame for this year include Donald Trump, who has already said he should get it, North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, and his south Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in.

Angela Merkel is also nominated, as is former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont.

Other nominees include The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) which has challenged many of Mr Trump’s policies, Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, who has campaigned against sexual violence, and Raif Badawi - the Saudi Arabian blogger who is imprisoned for allegedly “insulting Islam”.

Bookies also have Jeremy Corbyn and Theresa May tied at 100/1.

[5 October 2018 08:41 · Harry.Cockburn]

Last year, nuclear disarmament group the International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) won the award for their decade-long effort to highlight the humanitarian consequences of the use of nuclear weapons.

[5 October 2018 08:53 · Harry.Cockburn]

Other famous previous recipients of the humanitarian award in recent years include: Medecins sans Frontieres in 1999, Kofi Annan and the UN in 2001, Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2007, Barack Obama in 2009, The European Union in 2012, and Malala Yousafzai and Kailash Satyarthi in 2014.

[5 October 2018 09:13 · Harry.Cockburn]

The Nobel committee hasn’t published a list of all 331 nominated individuals and groups for this year’s prize, but in addition to the favourites listed below, other names in the hat include the Syrian civilian aid group the White Helmets, Russia’s Novaya Gazeta newspaper, Edward Snowden, and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

[5 October 2018 09:27 · Harry.Cockburn]

The 2018 prize is worth 9 million Swedish kronor (£760,000).

[5 October 2018 09:41 · Harry.Cockburn]

[5 October 2018 09:54 · Harry.Cockburn]

Video from Oslo is now live. Reporters and camera operators have gathered around a lectern where the announcement will be made in about five minutes.

[5 October 2018 09:59 · Harry.Cockburn]

According to betting site Bookmakers.TV, Kim Jong-un is now the overall favourite for the win.

The North Korean leader has reportedly attracted 73 per cent of bets placed in the market in the last week, allowing him to pull clear of second favourite Donald Trump, who now has a 25 per cent chance of winning.

Bookies are estimated to pay out £400,000 if Mr Kim wins

This is also the biggest Nobel peace prize betting market in history, as usual stakes are £50,000 or less, Bookmakers.TV said.