The Nobel Peace Prize 1988

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize is to be awarded to the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces.

The Peacekeeping Forces of the United Nations have, under extremely difficult conditions, contributed to reducing tensions where an armistice has been negotiated but a peace treaty has yet to be established. In situations of this kind, the UN forces represent the manifest will of the community of nations to achieve peace through negotiations, and the forces have, by their presence, made a decisive contribution towards the initiation of actual peace negotiations.

It is the considered opinion of the Committee that the Peacekeeping Forces through their efforts have made important contributions towards the realization of one of the fundamental tenets of the United Nations. Thus, the world organization has come to play a more central part in world affairs and has been invested with increasing trust.

The Peacekeeping Forces are recruited from among the young people of many nations, who, in keeping with their ideals, voluntarily take on a demanding and hazardous service in the cause of peace. In the opinion of the Committee, their efforts contribute in a particularly appropriate way towards the realization of the goals of the United Nations.

Oslo, September 29, 1988