Russia and Ukraine activists share peace prize
Two peace activists from countries on opposing side of a bloody conflict have been awarded a prestigious peace prize by the Berlin-based International Peace Bureau. Russian Asya Maruket Gagieva and Ukrainian Yurii Sheliazhenko have been named recipients of the 2022 Sean MacBride Peace Prize. The International Peace Bureau is the world’s oldest and largest peace umbrella group.
Asya Maruket is a female activist from Russia, who has been active in the fields of women’s rights, democractic values, peace and non-violence aiming at a more peaceful country through cooperation and cultural exchange. She holds a Bachelor degree in Psychology and Philology and is presently working as Coordinator and Social Worker for the women empowerment initiative group “Faisis” and the social project “Young Women Development Group”. In line with her voluntary positions, Asya Maruket has been constantly working towards a safer country for women and minorities.
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a male activist from Ukraine, who has worked towards peace, disarmament and human rights for many years and is currently serving as the Executive Secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement. He is a member of the Board of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection as well as World BEYOND War and a lecturer and research associate at the Faculty of Law and KROK University in Kyiv. Beyond that, Yurii Sheliazhenko is a journalist and blogger persistently defending human rights.
Other winners of the 2022 Sean MacBride are Alfredo ‘Fred’ Lubang for his work as part of Non-Violence International Southeast Asia (NISEA), a Philippines-based non-governmental organization working towards peacebuilding, disarmament and non-violence as well as regional peace processes, and Hiroshi Takakusaki of Japan for his lifelong dedication to a just peace, the abolition of nuclear weapons and social justice.
About the Sean MacBride Peace Prize
Every year the International Peace Bureau (IPB) awards a special prize to a person or organization that has done outstanding work for peace, disarmament and/or human rights. These were the principal concerns of Séan MacBride, the distinguished Irish statesman who was Chairman of IPB from 1968-74 and President from 1974-1985. MacBride began his career as a fighter against British colonial rule, studied law and rose to high office in the independent Irish Republic. He was a winner of the Nobel Peace Prize 1974.
