Dutch politicians want to nominate Ukraine, Zelenskyy for Nobel Peace Prize

Worldwide, more than a hundred politicians and former administrators including Prime Ministers, Ministers, and European Commissioners have submitted a joint request to the Nobel Committee in Norway to nominate the Ukrainian people and their leader, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, for the Nobel Peace Prize. They asked the committee to reopen the nomination procedure, which was closed on January 31.

In the letter, former Dutch Ministers Ank Bijleveld, Ben Bot, Bert Koenders, and Joris Voorhoeve, along with the former president of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker and former Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo wrote that reopening the procedure is justified “due to the current unprecedented situation" in the country. Russia invaded neighboring Ukraine on February 24, well after the nomination period closed.

"It is our democratic duty to stand up to authoritarianism and support a people who are fighting for democracy and their right to self-government. The veneer of civilization is paper-thin, we are its guardians and we can never rest,” the signatories said.

The initiator of the request, Dutchman Oliver van Loo, called it essential for the world to let the Ukrainian people know that they and their existential struggle for democracy are seen. "If the Nobel Prize can ever have great added value for peace in the world, then that time is now.”