PRIO Director's updated 2026 Nobel Peace Prize List
- Mykola Kuleba and Save the Children
- Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms
- The Committee to Protect Journalists
- The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court
- The International Space Station
Mykola Kuleba and Save the Children
Children continue to face severe violations in armed conflicts worldwide. The Children in Armed Conflict agenda has underscored the need to protect children’s rights, safety, and access to justice and education in situations of war. Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Mykola Kuleba and Save the Children would highlight both the devastating impact of war on children, and children’s agency in these settings. Such an award would recognize individuals and organizations working to protect children affected by war.
Mykola Kuleba, founder and head of Save Ukraine, established the organization in 2014 during the early stages of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and Crimea. He has since led major efforts to rescue and support Ukrainian children abducted by Russia and to help families displaced during the ongoing war. His work combines direct humanitarian action with strong advocacy for children’s rights, making him a compelling candidate for international recognition.
Save the Children plays a central global role in preventing and responding to the United Nations’ six grave violations against children in conflict zones. Its protection programmes, advocacy and long-standing field presence demonstrate the critical importance of humanitarian organizations in safeguarding children and holding perpetrators accountable.
Awarding the Peace Prize to Save the Children would also emphasize the continuing need for multilateral approaches to peace. Together, Mykola Kuleba/Save Ukraine and Save the Children embody an impactful commitment to protecting children in war. They represent strong candidates for a Nobel Peace Prize focusing on this urgent yet under-recognized dimension of peace and security.
Sudan’s Emergency Response Rooms
The armed conflict that erupted in Sudan in 2023 has plunged the country into one of the world’s most severe humanitarian crises. Nearly one in three people have been forcibly displaced since the start of the conflict. The international system has struggled to meet overwhelming needs for humanitarian assistance, with cuts in USAID funding compounding these challenges.
Reduced overall international support for aid operations in Sudan has prompted community-led, volunteer aid networks in Sudan to step in and provide lifesaving services to millions of people. One notable initiative is the Emergency Response Rooms, which is an expansive network of local civilian initiatives present in conflict zones and other places where people need humanitarian assistance.
They have set up communal kitchens, supported evacuations, offered medical care, fixed infrastructures and provided other services to communities. Operating in a decentralized structure, these groups deliver essential humanitarian assistance in a highly complex conflict environment, with limited access to external resources and logistics. Volunteers often operate in insecure areas, facing threats of harassment and violence.
Awarding this year’s Prize to a deserving humanitarian initiative such as the Emergency Response Rooms would highlight the critical importance of access to lifesaving aid in times of conflict, and the power of everyday citizens to serve humanity in difficult times.
The Committee to Protect Journalists
Assaults on journalists continue at alarming rates. In 2025, a record 132 journalists and media workers were killed. Palestinian journalism has been decimated, and Gaza has become the deadliest warzone for reporters in modern history. No government has yet been held to account for these killings.
Beyond active warzones, journalists face lethal risks from organized crime and systematic repression. From targeted killings in armed conflicts and by criminal networks, to the relentless harassment and suppression of independent media in countries such as Russia, Mexico, Myanmar and Afghanistan, reporting truth has increasingly become a matter of life and death.
The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a US-based watchdog group that compiles data on journalists who have been attacked or killed and advocates for journalists in crisis, would be a worthy candidate in this area. At a time when the free press is under historic assault, awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to the Committee to Project Journalists would send a powerful message that peace and democracy are endangered if journalists are prevented from keeping the world informed.
The International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court
The maintenance of an internationally recognized normative order, and in particular international law, is crucial for preventing and resolving conflict in an increasingly polarized world. This has become increasingly visible with the un-authorized US attacks on Iran, its intervention in Venezuela and threats to annex Greenland. The International Court of Justice (ICJ) and International Criminal Court (ICC) promote peace through international law, analogous to the peace congresses highlighted in Alfred Nobel's will.
Established in 1945 by the UN Charter, the ICJ settles legal disputes between states and advises legal questions within the UN. With all 193 UN Member States party to its Statute, the ICJ is a globally accepted mechanism for dispute resolution. Notably, it ordered Israel to prevent genocide in Gaza in January 2024, and Russia to suspend military operations in Ukraine in March 2022.
The ICC, established by the Rome Statute in 2002, holds individuals accountable for crimes like genocide and war crimes. The ICC's efforts in bringing justice to victims anywhere in the world have the potential to contribute significantly to global peace. Recognizing the ICC with the Nobel Peace Prize would highlight the importance of accountability and justice in achieving lasting peace, and the equal responsibility of all states and leaders to respect international law.
The ICJ and ICC would be deserving recipients of the 2026 Peace Prize for their role in fostering multilateral collaboration and holding those who breach internationally recognized norms to account.
The International Space Station
International rules and cooperation provide a kind of predictability that helps prevent conflict. Yet today, that system is being weakened by increasingly aggressive bilateral bargaining, in which even the sovereignty of states is questioned. The Nobel Peace Prize can remind us why and how multilateral cooperation matters.
Sixty years ago, the UN General Assembly adopted the text of the Outer Space Treaty (OST), based on the work not least of American and Soviet diplomats, in the midst of the Cold War. The treaty did for space what the UN Charter, the law of the sea and the Antarctic Treaty had already done for land, the oceans and the poles: it established common rules governing how states may act there.
The treaty laid the foundations for the International Space Station (ISS) partnership. For more than 25 years, the ISS has shown that geopolitical rivals can cooperate around a shared, peaceful endeavor, sparking great scientific achievements, even when relations on Earth deteriorate. The ISS approaches its decommissioning in the early 2030s. In parallel, space is becoming increasingly crowded, commercialized, and potentially weaponized. A Nobel Peace Prize for the ISS partnership would celebrate what humanity can achieve when we work together. We can even hope that a Peace Prize to the ISS and a celebration of the spirit of the OST can encourage peaceful collaboration with the Chinese and their Tiangong space station, and also contribute to much-needed OST additional protocols.
