Dubai – Massader News
Nadia Murad, a Yazidi rights activist and the first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), and Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who helps victims of sexual violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), were awarded the 2018 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
The decision to jointly-award the prestigious prize, has the potential to help end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war, the UN said – a cause which is central to the Organization’s work.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, speaking at UN Headquarters in New York, said that “in defending the victims of sexual violence in conflict, they have defended our shared values.”
He praised Dr. Mukwege’s “fearless” championing of women raped and abused in conflict, repairing “shattered bodies” as a skilled surgeon but also restoring “dignity and hope”.