Oleksandra Matviichuk: Ukrainian Nobel Peace Prize laureate and human rights defender

Oxford Policy Pod

In this episode, MPP students Erik Kucherenko and Kseniia Velychko talk to Oleksandra Matviichuk, a Ukrainian human rights lawyer and civil rights defender, whose organisation Centre for Civil Liberties (CCL) won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

In an incredibly emotional and sincere episode, Erik, Kseniia, and Oleksandra discuss the motivation behind Oleksandra and the CCL's fight for human rights, the importance of documenting war crimes, the ongoing Russian full-scale aggression against Ukraine, the role of civil society in bringing about political and diplomatic change, and why justice is so important today.

***

Oleksandra Matviichuk is a human rights defender who works on issues in Ukraine and the OSCE region. At present she heads the human rights organisation Center for Civil Liberties, and also coordinates the work of the initiative group Euromaidan SOS. The activities of the Center for Civil Liberties are aimed at protecting human rights and establishing democracy in Ukraine and the OSCE region. The organisation is developing legislative changes, exercises public oversight over law enforcement agencies and judiciary, conducts educational activities for young people and implements international solidarity programs.

After the beginning of new armed aggression in February 2022, Matviichuk together with other partners created the ‘Tribunal for Putin’ initiative in order to document international crimes under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in all regions of Ukraine which became the targets of attacks of the Russian Federation.

In 2016 she received the Democracy Defender Award for ‘Exclusive Contribution to Promoting Democracy and Human Rights’ from missions to the OSCE. In 2017 she became the first woman to participate in the Ukrainian Emerging Leaders Program of Stanford University. In 2022 Matviichuk was awarded with the Right Livelihood Award and recognised as one of the 25th influential women in the world by the Financial Times. The same year Center for Civil Liberties, which Matviichuk is head of, received the Nobel Peace Prize.