The 2020 Nobel Peace Prize goes to the United Nations World Food Programme (Wfp), for "its efforts to combat hunger, its contribution to bettering conditions for peace in conflict-affected areas and for acting as a driving force in efforts to prevent hunger from being used as a weapon in wars and conflicts." The Wfp is the largest humanitarian organisation fighting hunger and promoting food security. In 2019 alone it assisted more than 100 million people in 88 countries.

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BREAKING NEWS:
The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Programme (WFP).

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Hunger, an even more crucial issue after coronavirus

The coronavirus pandemic, the Norwegian Nobel Committee notes, has brought with it a sharp increase in the number of people suffering from hunger. This is especially the case in countries such as Yemen, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, South Sudan and Burkina Faso, which are already grappling with violent conflicts. Faced with this crisis, it states, "the World Food Programme has demonstrated an admirable ability to intensify its efforts." Citing the organisation's own words: "Until the day we have a medical vaccine, food is the best vaccine against chaos."

The press release announcing the winner of the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize also contains an explicit call to ensure the necessary financial support for the World Food Programme, as well as for other organisations providing food assistance. Without it, there is a risk of a crisis "of inconceivable proportions." All the more so because hunger and conflict are linked in a dangerous vicious circle.

The World Food Programme, in this regard, has so far played a central role in South America, Africa and Asia through pioneering projects that have assisted populations while at the same time contributing to greater social and political stability. The organisation took part in the diplomatic process that culminated in Resolution 2417, adopted unanimously in May 2018 by the UN Security Council. For the first time, the link between hunger and conflict was set down in writing, prohibiting attacks on farms, markets, water systems and other infrastructure on which the food security of the population depends.

The Nobel Peace Prize: previous editions

In 2019, the Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali, for "his efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and, in particular, for his decisive initiative in resolving the border conflict with neighbouring Eritrea." Among the most celebrated laureates are Martin Luther King (1964), Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1979), Nelson Mandela (1993), Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) and Malala Yousafzai (2014).

Just as has happened this year, on other occasions the prize has been awarded not to an individual but to an organisation. This was the case, for example, with the International Labour Organization (Ilo) in 1969, Amnesty International in 1977, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (Unhcr) in 1981, Médecins Sans Frontières in 1999, the European Union in 2012 and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (Ican) in 2017.