US President Donald Trump will not win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize as he wages war with Iran, but his influence will still be felt by the awarding body that picks the laureate, according to experts.
“In this serious international situation, this year calls for a Peace Prize in defence of liberal democracy, international law and human rights.
This year, the five-strong body will be mindful of picking someone who can withstand pressure from Trump, according to Haakon Gjerloew, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo. Leo, the first US-born pope, has said he would continue to speak out against war, after the president called him “weak” for criticising the US conflict with Iran. But the committee is also under scrutiny to address Trump’s challenges to the international order the committee cherishes, said Oeivind Stenersen, a historian who has written about the Nobel Peace Prize. “They have a certain pressure … to be tough against Trump,” he told Reuters. This could mean honouring the ICC at a time when Washington is preparing sweeping sanctions against the global tribunal, according to sources, while an award to the ICJ would support respecting the sovereignty of nation-states and resolving disputes peacefully. Trump has reportedly been nominated by the leaders of Cambodia, Israel and Pakistan, but his chances were “quite low”, according to Gjerloew.
