Critics say that Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize is premature as he has not yet achieved anything concrete in the area of peace over the period of nine month of his presidency. The Nobel committee, however, believes otherwise.

The people behind the award-giving firmly state that Obama had achieved a lot already and ‘was the person to contribute the most to peace in the last year — a key criteria of Alfred Nobel’s will — by putting emphasis on multilateral diplomacy, rather than unilateral military action.’ According to the committee head, “It was unavoidable to give the prize to the man who has improved the international climate and emphasized negotiations and dialogue.”

Underscoring Obama’s focus on and contribution to multilateral institutions, dialogue and negotiations, arms control and nuclear disarmament, as well as the environment, the committee adds, “We want to emphasize that he has already brought significant changes. All these things have already taken place and this already has had a very significant impact on international relations. We do of course hope that there will be many concrete changes over the years, but when a president makes all these changes on these ideals, which are the ideals the Norwegian Nobel Committee has had for 100 years, we felt it was right to strengthen him as much as we can in this further struggle for these ideals.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, composed of former members of parliament and government, prioritizes efforts that ‘impact on current political processes and will want to see progress on issues as diverse as nuclear disarmament, the conclusion of a climate treaty in Copenhagen or the increased use of multilateral institutions like the UN — which Norway is very supportive of — as a tool for international diplomacy.’

Via globalpost