A Norwegian human rights foundation has awarded its annual Rafto Prize to the Emergency Response Rooms, a Sudanese network of community groups providing aid, in recognition of “their courageous work to preserve the most fundamental human right, the right to life.”
Four past Rafto laureates – Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi, East Timor’s José Ramos-Horta, South Korea’s Kim Dae-jung, and Iran’s Shirin Ebadi – later went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize.
This year’s Nobel Peace Prize will be announced on October 10 in Oslo. The Peace Research Institute Oslo has named the Emergency Response Rooms among possible contenders.
The Emergency Response Rooms emerged during Sudan’s civil war, which broke out in 2023. The loose network has worked to maintain basic services such as water and electricity while distributing food and medical supplies.
“They consist of thousands of volunteers who engage in collaborative, community-driven efforts to meet urgent humanitarian needs at great personal risk,” the Rafto Foundation said in a statement.
The foundation added: “They save lives and maintain human dignity in a place of misery and despair. Their innovative mutual aid efforts through citizen participation contribute to developing a civil society and are essential to building a better future for Sudan.”
The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has created what the United Nations calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with famine spreading across the country. More than 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes, though some have begun to return, according to UN estimates.
The Rafto Prize comes with a diploma and prize money of $20,000.
