Perhaps more than ever, peace is going to be the main theme of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize award as the Nobel season opens in October. With so much tension over the nuclear threats arising in North Korea and Iran, it is all eyes on peace again. 911 men and women have been awarded a Nobel prize throughout, which was started, somewhat ironically perhaps, but Alfred Nobel who was the inventor of dynamite. The main criteria, which has stood all the way through since the first Nobel awards in 1901 is that “those who, during the preceding year, shall have conferred the greatest benefit on mankind” in the fields of literature, peace, medicine, physics and chemistry.
The peace prize awards will be announced on October 6th and this of course, of all the awards, is the most anticipated and it also causes the most heated debates. Last year, Juan Manuel Santos, the Colombian President won the Peace Prize for his endeavours in trying to heal his country which has been suffering from internal wars for more than 50 years. Apparently this year, more than 3000 people and organisations have been nominated and heading up the list in the Nobel Peace Prize Betting 2017 Winner market at Unibet is The American Civil Liberties Union which has had its hands full since Donald Trump came into power in the USA.
Everything surrounding the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize is speculation. No official lists or shortlists are given out and the names of candidates are actually kept secret for at least 50 years. But the people in the position of power in being able to nominate candidates, such as former laureates, government minutes and lawmakers are allowed to release who they put forth for the award.
Donald Trump Nominated
With Donald Trump threatening to tear up the Iran deal, on top of that he has initiated increasing tensions between the USA and North Korea. North Korea has been pushing and pushing with a sixth nuclear test this year and testing the patience of Washington and with Trump using threatening retaliation such as threatening to destroy North Korea, so it’s unlikely that he’ll be on the Peace Prize list any time soon. Well, that’s what you would think, but someone put him forward in honour of “his peace through strength ideology”. The person who nominated him has remained anonymous. Trump is tripe-figure outside shot to win the prize. But Trump’s meddling in Iran and with North Korea has at least highlighted the nuclear issue.
The extremely important Iran accord really is credited to two main people, Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini, are therefore good options for this year’s award as they have been backed by the head of the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (Prio), Henrik Urdal who said: “With North Korea also at stake, it’s very important to support initiatives that guard against the development and proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
ACLU and White Helmets receive strong backing
The ACLU are the shortest priced option in the outright market as they defend right in the courts, empowering communities across the US and influence public policy. They are defending people’s basic rights and they have had a lot do since the Trump administration came into office, particularly over the rights of immigrants. Syria’s White Helmets, who are a rescue service in the country which has been destroyed by war are trading well because of the amount that the have done since the Syrian tragedy has escalated. That’s some brave people putting a lot on the line in one of the most dangerous places in the world at the moment.
The White Helmets were in contention last year along with Congolese doctor Denis Mukwege, jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi and Edward Snowden. Yes, Snowden is seen as a big advocate for people power and peace as he was the one who leaked all the information about just how deep America’s NSA electronic surveillance programme went. Pope Francis, who was decently backed in last year’s market is right up there again at a price of 4/1 with Unibet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has done a lot for refugees, a little longer 13/2.
British MP Jo Cox, who was murdered last year was posthumously awarded a peace prize along with the Syrian civil volunteer group the White Helmets. This was last year in November just before the trial of Thomas Mair for her murder. Raif Badawi, a Saudi writer, dissident and activist who was flogged 50 times in January and who still has another 950 lashes on his sentence and nearly a decade left in prison to serve after blogging about free speech in Saudi Arabia. He continues to stand strong for free speech, despite his position and could be a popular choice.
NFL quarter back Colin Kaepernick has been nominated for his protests, highlighting inequality towards African Americans. There is a little extra in the purse for winners of a Nobel Prize this year as the hour comes with a nine million kronor ($1.1-million, €940,500) prize sum and that will be shared out if there are more than one laureates announced in the same discipline. October will just see the awards announced and later in the year, on December 10th in Oslo, the Laureates will be able to pick up their prize at a formal banquet.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner Odds
The American Civil Liberties Union 3/1, Pope Francis 4/1, The White Helmets 4/1, Angela Merkel 13/2, Jo Cox 10/1, Raif Badawi 10/1, Edward Snowden 14/1, Nadia Murad 14/1, Colin Kaepernick 20/1, Sadiq Khan 20/1, Joshua Won 25/1, Michelle Obama 25/1, Daniel Vargas 30/1, Jacques Chirac 30/1, bar 50/1
