Human Rights

by Sarah Lazare
October 09, 2015
Common Dreams

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded its prestigious Peace Prize to Tunisia's National Dialogue Quartet—the coalition of labor unions and human rights groups that forged a path to political compromise following the country's 2011 "Arab Spring" uprising.

The announcement was immediately met with cries of mabrouk, or congratulations, to the ordinary people and left-wing forces whose tenacious efforts made the initiative possible.

Established in 2013, the quartet is a coalition of the Tunisian General Labor Union (UGTT); the Tunisian Confederation of Industry, Trade and Handicrafts (UTICA); the Tunisian Human Rights League (LTDH); and the Tunisian Order of Lawyers.

The Nobel committee formally recognized the coalition "for its decisive contribution to the building of a pluralistic democracy in Tunisia in the wake of the Jasmine Revolution of 2011."