Oslo [Norway], October 10 (ANI): The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner has been announced as Maria Corina Machado 'for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.'

Terming her as a 'brave and committed champion of peace,' the Norwegian Nobel Committee said that the Prize has gone to a 'woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.'

'Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence.'

Machado has spent years working for the freedom of the Venezuelan people, the Committee said.

'The Venezuelan regime's rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair,' the Nobel Committee said.

'Peace laureate Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard,' it said.

Machado meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel's will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate, the selection committee said.

'She has brought her country's opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy. Maria Corina Machado has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace,' it said.

She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in peace.

Wangari Maathai was the first female professor in Kenya and the first African woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. She founded the Green Belt Movement, which led to the planting of millions of trees.

Nobel Prizes in chemistry, physics, medicine and literature have already been awarded this week. The prize for economics will be announced on Monday. (ANI)