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# If Not Trump or Zelensky,y Who Deserves the Next Nobel Peace Prize?
October 01 2026
Written by Liz Amsden.
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ACCORDING TO LIZ - Haakon Gjerløw, acting director of the Peace Research Institute Oslo, points out in a [Guardian article](https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/sep/28/donald-trump-nobel-peace-prize-volodymyr-zelenskyy) that it’s difficult to give a leader accused of war crimes and promoting grievous assaults against immigrants in his own country the gift he is jonesing for, and it would be politically unwise to support one European president in a devastating conflict against a neighboring despot.
The short list of 2026 nominees is slated to be announced on October 6.
Gjerløw suggests the ICC, the Committee to Protect Journalists, the ISS, and Save the Children.
\* The International Court of Justice and The International Criminal Court because “rules matter only if they can be enforced, and these courts uphold a principle increasingly under pressure: that international law applies even to the powerful. At a time when the US administration is placing sanctions on ICC officials, awarding the courts the prize would affirm the importance of the international legal order.”
\* The Committee to Protect Journalists which identified 132 journalists and media workers killed in 2025, two-thirds in coverage of Netanyahu’s depredations in Gaza and elsewhere in the Middle East, human beings losing their lives documenting evidence of transnational malfeasance.
To ensure due process against violators of humanitarian justice: “Protecting journalism protects our ability to establish what happens in war – essential for accountability and peace.”
\* The International Space Station epitomized an era of peaceful scientific cooperation in space. For over a quarter century the rivalry of Earthbound politics was put aside by the men and woman high in the skies above.
A Nobel peace prize for this partnership would “underscore the continuing importance of keeping space governed by common rules and peaceful collaboration.”
\* For over a hundred years, Save the Children has protected the world's most vulnerable, aiding children’s survival and giving them the tools to learn and flourish.
As the world’s leading independent children’s organization, their efforts improve the lives of tens of millions of children in more than 100 countries. Especially in times of conflict.
For too many life is a series of battles. The goal of the Nobel committee is to elevate peace and prioritize principles of international cooperation and humanitarian action.
Sadly, neither Trump nor Zelenskyy come close to qualifying, the first a force for destruction while the latter is still in desperate need of protection.
Gjerløw points out that those in the trenches, people and groups striving to make a difference but falling below the global media’s radar are the ones the Nobel committee can raise up as examples of right action, as ones continuing the Nobel Prize mission of conscientiously building peace.
\* To the foregoing, I would add the American Friends Service Committee, a Quaker organization which works for peace and social justice in the United States and around the world.
The Quakers a.k.a. the Religious Society of Friends was initially nominated for the prize in 1912, eleven years after the award was founded, and again in 1923, 1924 and 1936 for its work assisting civilian victims of war and famine.
In 1947 the Nobel Peace Prize was indeed awarded “to the Quakers, represented by their two great relief organizations, the Friends Service Council in London and the American Friends Service Committee in Philadelphia.”
Seventy years later in a world arguably at far greater risk than during the Second World War the Quakers, who continue with their compassionate work around the globe and spearhead peace activities in Congress, again deserve a nomination.
\* Or what about **Bernie Sanders** who has made an indelible mark on American politics calling for the end of the military-industrial mentality that has suffused both Republican and Democratic administrations?
\* And, given so much violence today stems from discrepancies in power – first world/third world, wealth/poverty, corporate/individual – and the selfishness that anchor these trace back to childhood trauma, the Nobel Prize committee should take a serious look at **NO MORE.**
NO MORE is a coalition of over 1,400 allied nonprofits, corporations, government agencies, media, schools, and individuals opposing an evil entrenched in almost every culture around the globe. Domestic and sexual violence, watched and experienced.
The coalition’s mandate is to leverage the power of media, entertainment, sports, technology, and collective action driving grassroots activism and encouraging everyone – man and woman, youth and adult, from all walks of life – to be part of the solution.
\* My list would be incomplete if it didn't give a thumbs up, way up, for the bravery of **Daniel Ellsberg** who released the Pentagon Papers and drew back the curtain on U.S. government’s then and continuing military malfeasance. Before his death in 2023, Ellsberg was awarded both the Gandhi Peace Award for his commitment to peace and non-violence, and the Right Livelihood Award, known aka the Alternative Nobel Prize for “for putting peace and truth first, at considerable personal risk, and dedicating his life to inspiring others to follow his example.”
Unfortunately, the Nobel Foundation determined five decades ago that a prize could not be awarded posthumously.
\* So capping my personal list of proposed nominees are **The People of Minneapolis**, who last winter persisted in helping their neighbors while facing intimidation and death daily from the ICE invaders. For resisting, without violence, masked and violent men. For setting an example for other cities and states across the country and inspiring people around the world to stand firm in opposition to dictatorships.
As *The Nation* wrote in its nomination of a small and rarely nationally newsworthy city in Minnesota, “Through countless acts of courage and solidarity, the people of Minneapolis have challenged the culture of fear, hate, and brutality that has gripped the United States and too many other countries. Their nonviolent resistance has captured the imagination of the nation and the world.”
Who or what organization do you think should be included?
***(Liz Amsden** is a former Angeleno now living in Vermont and a regular CityWatch contributor. She writes on issues she’s passionate about, including social justice, government accountability, and community empowerment. Liz brings a sharp, activist voice to her commentary and continues to engage with Los Angeles civic affairs from afar. She can be reached at ****.)*
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