The Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet won the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for "its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia," the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced.

The Quartet, formed in 2013, "established an alternative, peaceful political process at a time when the country was on the brink of civil war," Kaci Kullmann Five, chairperson of the five-member committee, said in her announcement.

"It was thus instrumental in enabling Tunisia, in the space of a few years, to establish a constitutional system of government guaranteeing fundamental rights for the entire population, irrespective of gender, political conviction or religious belief," she said.

The National Dialogue Quartet comprises four key organizations in Tunisian civil society: the Tunisian General Labour Union, the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts, the Tunisian Human Rights League and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

The Quartet "exercised its role as a mediator and driving force to advance peaceful democratic development in Tunisia with great moral authority," Five said, adding that prize "is awarded to this Quartet, not to the four individual organizations as such."

Go to Forum >>0 Comment(s)