Kiwi nominated for Nobel Peace Prize

A New Zealander has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of his work on a lawsuit on behalf of a Pacific nation devastated by nuclear testing.

Professor Roger Clark is part of a group of lawyers representing the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

Between 1946 and 1958, the United States detonated 60 nuclear bombs on the islands, the equivalent of 1.7 Hiroshima bombs detonated daily.

The country has launched a legal bid to hold the nine countries in possession of nuclear weapons accountable.

Professor Clark, now based in New Jersey, began his law studies at Victoria University.

He said in a statement he thought it would be a hard case to win, but he thought they "had a shot".

Hearings on the case begin next month.

The Nobel Peace Prize Laureates will be announced in October, with a ceremony in Oslo, Norway, scheduled for December.

Three New Zealanders have won Nobel Prizes - two for chemistry, Ernest Rutherford in 1908 and Alan MacDiarmid in 2000, and Maurice Wilkins for medicine in 1962.

The Nobel Committee typically receives hundreds of nominations for the prestigious prizes, which are awarded for contributions to the fields of chemistry, economic sciences, literature, medicine, peace and physics.

 

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