May Donald Trump win the Nobel Peace Prize?

Listen this article

Following the nomination of President Trump for this important prize, how is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize chosen?

Many were skeptical of Trump's nomination for the Nobel Peace Prize. Trump had announced that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had nominated him. In front of this, and when asking Abe, a clear answer was not obtained because the Japanese avoided giving a concrete one.

Leer en español: ¿Podría Donald Trump ganar el Premio Nobel de la Paz?

Even Moon Jae In, president of South Korea, was asked, but he also didn't dare to confirm or deny who nominated Trump. Instead, he said he "deserved to be nominated to establish peace on the Korean peninsula by continuing talks with North Korea", according to El Clarín.

However, the mystery of knowing if Trump was nominated or not, ended when media such as Reuters and Europa Press confirmed the fact. In a dialogue with Reuters, the Norwegian deputy Per-Willy Amundsen, who is one of the authors of the proposal, said that "we have nominated him for the progress on the Korean peninsula". Together with the deputy Christian Tybring-Gjedde, they passed the nomination before the deadline was over, on January 31. In this regard, Tybring-Gjedde said that "obviously the prize will depend on the negotiations leading to a credible disarmament agreement."

Still, Trump competes against 304 candidates, of whom 219 are individuals and 85 are organizations. Otherwise, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is composed of five members, who decide the winner of the prize and "keep secret for 50 years the names of nominees and failed nominees", according to Reuters.

You may be interested in reading: United States: Trump will definitely build the wal

How do they select the winner?

Trump's chances of winning are subject to obtaining an accurate and real agreement between North Korea and the United States, while on the other side, Trump is surrounded by the controversy over the construction of the wall between his country and Mexico. Because of this situation, and for which he has been strongly criticized, many organizations have accused him of violating human rights. Trump would have to overcome 304 candidates to be among the first selected.

The important thing here is to know how the winner is chosen. In the first instance, we must remember that to whom this award is given is because "he has done the best work for fraternity between nations, the abolition or reduction of permanent armies and for the celebration and promotion of peace congresses", according to The Balance Everyday.

Secondly, and as already mentioned, there are five members that make up the Norwegian Nobel Committee, appointed by the Norwegian parliament, which are independent so they do not get carried away by the different political situations in the world.

According to El País, when they already have all the nominees, they make a first selection until there is a list of between 20 or 30 candidates. It is at this moment where a group of international advisors "and Norwegians, make a report on these possible winners and, with these reports, the committee narrows the selection", according to the same media.

In addition, the winner must be a person or organization that "has not completed their work for peace but is at a critical juncture in their work and they need the support of winning", according to The Balance Everyday

Finally, after evaluating the reports and the relevant procedures, the Committee makes the announcement around October, where the winner, in addition to the recognition, receives around 837,000 euros.

LatinAmerican Post | Laura Viviana Guevara Muñoz

Translated from "¿Podría Donald Trump ganar el Premio Nobel de la Paz?"