A member of the Norwegian Parliament nominated Black Lives Matter for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize, lauding the movement for its calls for systemic change during summer 2020.
Petter Eide of the Socialist Left Party said in his nomination papers that the movement had a hand in forcing countries outside the United States to combat racism and inequality in their respective societies, according to the Guardian.
Following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May, Black Lives Matter soared in international popularity, leading to protests against racism and police brutality in cities across the world, including London, Seoul, Sydney, Rio de Janeiro, and elsewhere.
“I find that one of the key challenges we have seen in America, but also in Europe and Asia, is the kind of increasing conflict based on inequality. Black Lives Matter has become a very important worldwide movement to fight racial injustice,” Eide said. “They have had a tremendous achievement in raising global awareness and consciousness about racial injustice.”
Eide said he did not intend for his nomination to be a statement about domestic U.S. politics but also dismissed criticism from right-wing voices alleging Black Lives Matter was responsible for damages and violence in U.S. cities.
“Studies have shown that most of the demonstrations organised by Black Lives Matter have been peaceful. Of course there have been incidents, but most of them have been caused by the activities of either the police or counter-protestors,” Eide said.
According to Property Claim Services, a company tracking insurance claims related to civil disorder, looting and riots following the death of Floyd amounted to at least $1 billion in damages to properties across the United States, the Hill reported.
Although independent investigations concluded over 90% of protests in 2020 remained peaceful, many cities, including Minneapolis and Kenosha, Wisconsin, were struck with immense property damages from violent agitators and anarchists.
Former President Donald Trump was also nominated for the 2021 prize by Christian Tybring-Gjedde, a member of Parliament who leads Norway’s NATO delegation. Trump did not win the prize.
Tybring-Gjedde said he nominated Trump not because he liked the former president but because “the committee should look at the facts and judge him on the facts — not on the way he behaves sometimes. The people who have received the Peace Prize in recent years have done much less than Donald Trump. For example, Barack Obama did nothing.”
Tybring-Gjedde also said his reasoning for nominating Trump stemmed from his role in brokering peace negotiations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.
Following the storming of the Capitol on Jan. 6, after which the House voted to impeach Trump a second time on a charge of incitement of insurrection, Eide said he had “a little difficulty defending [Tybring-Gjedde’s] nomination.” Trump faces a Senate impeachment trial next month.
Nobel Peace Prize nominations are accepted from any politician serving at a national level, and those submitting have 2,000 words to state their reasoning for selection.
The deadline for 2021 submissions is Monday. A committee will prepare a shortlist of nominations by the end of March, and the winner is selected in October, followed by an award ceremony slated for Dec. 10.
