Interview with Oleksandra Matviichuk, Head of Center for Civil Liberties, September 2023 in Oslo, Norway.

What was your first reaction on hearing the news of your Nobel Peace Prize? 

Oleksandra Matviichuk: When we got this information, I was very surprised. I couldn’t believe it, because we have never even dreamt about the Nobel Peace Prize award. We are ordinary human rights defenders. We are not celebrities. We are not stars, not sportsmen, not artists. And the Nobel Peace Prize award always sounds like it is to be granted to some extraordinary people.  

Maybe we don’t have a feeling of celebration, especially because it’s rewarded during the war – and this war is very bloody – but for sure it’s a huge opportunity.  

What can we do to help promote democracy and freedom in the world? 

Oleksandra Matviichuk: Human rights and freedom will never be protected if you leave their protection only to human rights defenders, diplomats or experts. It’s a task and obligation for ordinary people in different countries in the world. Because you can adopt qualities, laws, you can build formal institutions, but the values of society always prevail. To fight for our freedom, it’s our common obligation.  

What advice would you like to share with young peace activists? 

Oleksandra Matviichuk: Be courageous. You for sure will be better than our generation.  

I’m sure that sooner or later, young people who are fighting for freedom and for human dignity will find themself in circumstances when the law doesn’t work. When they are faced with enormous challenges and their own efforts will feel like not making any sense. But the truth is that we have to fight and to continue our struggle and the result, even unexpectedly, will be achieved. 

How can we maintain human rights for all? 

Oleksandra Matviichuk: We have to remember the value of human rights. We are going through a very dramatic time, not just in Ukraine where we are living, but generally as a humankind. The problem is not only the fact that in an authoritarian regime, the space of freedom is shrinking to the size of a prison cell. The problem is that the populist movements, even in well-developed democracies, that openly question the universal principle of human rights, gain weight. Generations in well-developed democracies inherited their freedom, democracy and rule of law system from their parents. That is why they very often don’t understand their real meanings, because they have never fought for them. They take it for granted. The truth is that we have to defend the value of modern civilisation. It is not just given once and forever. 

When circumstances are bleak, how do you and CCL push forward? 

Oleksandra Matviichuk: It is a question about what inspires me. It’s a good question to ask, because now we are in a situation when the law doesn’t work. We document horrible atrocities which Russia commits in the territory of Ukraine, and the entire system of peace and security can’t stop it. So where is my source of inspiration, which helps me to continue my struggle? In people, ordinary people, who do extra ordinary things. I know from my own experience, that when you can’t rely on the legal instrument, you can still rely on people. People have much more impact than they can even imagine.  

What gives you hope about the future? 

Oleksandra Matviichuk: I am an optimist by nature. I have been fighting in the field of human rights and democracy for 20 years in such countries as Ukraine. You can’t be a pessimist and stay in this field for so long. The history of humankind convincingly proves that even when you have no other instrument – just your words and your own position – you have to use this instrument.  

Watch the interview