Nobel peace prize winners collect awards in Oslo

World Today

The winners of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize have received their awards in Oslo.

Nadia Murad and Dr. Denis Mukwege are being honored for their work on fighting for sex abuse victims.

CGTN’s Jim Spellman has more.

The 2018 Nobel Peace Prize winners are calling on the world to stop sexual violence against women as a weapon of war.

“I commit today before you to be the voice for those who don’t have a voice, to stand for those who seek justice and bring fairness to survivors wherever they might be,” said Nadia Murad a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

Nadia Murad is a Yazidi woman who was kidnapped and repeatedly raped in Iraq, held as a slave by ISIL. She escaped and is now a human rights advocate. She shares the award with Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who has treated thousands of women raped at the hands of soldiers in the ongoing conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

“For almost 20 years, I have witnessed war crimes committed against women, girls, and even baby girls not only in my country, the Democratic Republic of Congo, but also in many other countries. To the survivors from all over the world, I would like to tell you that through this prize, the world is listening to you and refusing to remain indifferent,” said Denis Mukwege a Nobel peace prize winner.

They say that for too long the international community has looked away as women and girls have been systematically abused.

“I entered this school with my mother, friends and relatives. Today the village is surrounded by mass graves. We were trapped in the village from third to 15th of August 2014 and no one came to our aid. We called on the United Nations, Europe, Kurdistan and Iraq to save us but they did not, even though they knew 1700 Yazidis were in danger,” said Nadia Murad a Nobel Peace Prize winner.

“The award is part of a growing movement to recognize the violence and injustice disproportionately faced by half of our population. Let us honor these new Nobel laureates by standing up for victims of sexual violence everywhere,” said Antonio Guterres the United Nations Secretary-General

But they know their fight is just beginning.

“We hope that our presence here is, above all, so this prize won’t be seen as a victory but rather as the start of a new struggle, a new struggle against this type of evil, this violence made to women in conflicts,” said Denis Mukwege a Nobel peace prize winner.