wfn.org | AFSC:Nobel Peace Prize Nomination

[RByler@afsc.org]

For Immediate Release
February 5, 1997
Contact: J.Ron Byler (215) 241-7060
or Aishah Shahidah Simmons (215) 241-7056

President Jimmy Carter Nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

PHILADELPHIA – Former president of the United States, Jimmy Carter, was
nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize today by the American Friends Service
Committee (AFSC), a co-recipient of the prize fifty years ago in 1947.  It
is the second time AFSC has nominated Carter for the prize.
	"President Carter continues to demonstrate how a former president can make
a unique contribution to ending armed conflicts and building the foundation
for a peaceful world," said Kara Newell, executive director of AFSC.  In its
prior nomination, AFSC noted Carter’s selfless public service on a global
scale and his work for peace, justice and human rights since he left the
presidency.  
	Carter leads the Carter Center, founded at Emory University in Atlanta in
1982, in its worldwide efforts of international peacemaking and negotiation,
and its programs in developing countries to aid democracy by monitoring
elections and to improve human rights and health conditions.  
	Carter’s international peacemaking efforts in 1996 demonstrate his ability
to embrace the humanity of both parties in a conflict.  In January 1996,
Carter led a team from the Center to monitor the Palestinian elections and
insisted that the Israeli police force cease intimidating Palestinian
voters.  In March 1996, he was instrumental in bringing together five heads
of state in the Great Lakes region of Africa for a second summit meeting.  
        In October 1996, Carter joined former Costa Rican President Oscar
Arias Sanchez and others to broker an election agreement in Nicaragua when
the Sandinistas questioned the results.  "Jimmy Carter is willing to listen
to the legitimate concerns of both sides in a conflict, refusing to limit
blame to one party no matter the prevailing world opinion," said Kara Newell
of Carter’s efforts in countries like North Korea, Haiti and Bosnia.  She
noted that Quakers are historically familiar with this approach and know its
value as well as the criticisms it draws. 
        In its Nobel nomination, AFSC highlighted Jimmy Carter’s work with
the Atlanta Project, a community-wide program in Atlanta addressing the
problems of urban poverty.  Carter also carries a concern for world health.
In July 1996, Carter’s Global 2000 project celebrated a reduction in cases
of the guinea worm disease in sixteen African countries, from 3.5 million in
1986 to about 110,000 last year.
        In her letter to the Nobel Peace Prize committee in Norway, Newell
also affirmed the spiritual underpinnings that guide the work of Jimmy and
Rosalynn Carter.  "Carter’s work reflects the Quaker concerns for mutuality
and respect for all persons," said Newell.  When Carter decided to establish
the Carter Center, he met with an interfaith group of religious leaders who
helped him identify two concerns they all held in common – peace and
alleviating human suffering.
        The American Friends Service Committee received the 1947 Nobel Peace
Prize with the Friends Service Council of Great Britain on behalf of the
Religious Society of Friends.  The prize was awarded for Quaker Service
relief efforts in Germany and other European countries following World War II.
        As a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, AFSC is entitled to nominate
individuals or groups for the Nobel Peace Prize.  Since 1947, Sir John Boyd
Orr (1949), Dag Hammarskjold (1961) and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. (1964)
have won the Nobel Peace Prize in the year they were nominated by AFSC.
Bishop Desmond Tutu, winner of the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, had earlier been
nominated by AFSC in 1981 and 1982.  In 1996, AFSC nominated Maha Ghosananda
of Cambodia for the prize.
        For more information, contact Ron Byler, AFSC director of media
relations at 
(215)  241-7060. 
-- 30 --

The American Friends Service Committee is a Quaker organization which
includes people of various faiths who are committed to social justice, peace
and humanitarian service.  Its work is based on the Quaker belief in the
worth of every person, and faith in the power of love to overcome violence
and injustice.
J.Ron Byler
Director of Media Relations
American Friends Service Committee
PH: 215/241-7060
FAX: 215/241-7275
E-MAIL: RByler@afsc.org
http://www.afsc.org