Articles

Nobel Lecture given by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2022 Center for Civil Liberties, delivered by Oleksandra Matviichuk, Oslo, 10 December 2022.

‘How could a person in his right mind do such things?’ (Alla Korzurina) The six-month nightmare endured by a village near Kharkiv, used first as a base and then as a target by Russian forces.

Serhiy was hit by a cluster bomb and had to crawl to the nearest house for help. Russian forces were shelling a town they already occupied, of that he is convinced.

11 places have already been found in liberated parts of Kherson Region, where the Russian occupiers held Ukrainian civilians prisoner.

Ukrainian soldiers were based only five kilometres away. Russian troops dug trenches around the houses and set up their artillery unit at the school. Little now remains of the school: empty cans and shell casings are scattered over its charred remains.

As feared, Russia and its local collaborators are refusing to return Ukrainian children who were supposedly sent on holiday or to study in Russia or occupied Crimea.

Russian forces have frequently attacked the distribution of humanitarian aid and evacuation convoys, seizing the aid and the transport sent to evacuate civilians.

A State that neglects the human rights of its citizens inevitably becomes a threat to peace.

“My entire 20-year experience of fighting for freedom and human rights has convinced me that people exercise a far greater influence that they ever realise. All our achievements are down to them”. Speech at a press conference about the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize.

The Center for Civil Liberties becomes Ukraine's first-ever Nobel laureate.

In early July, a conference was held in West Ukraine concerning “The impact of military operations in Ukraine on the environment and human rights: a challenge to humanity” (4−6 July 2022).

On Sunday, 11 September, Vovchansk was one of dozens of towns and villages liberated by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. A month ago, Iryna Skachko described the use to which its largest factory was put during months of enemy occupation.