- The awarding of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to President Jimmy Carter is a most welcome recognition of one human being’s personal peace engagement. Norway’s Prime Minister, Mr. Kjell Magne Bondevik, said this in his first comments here to the news that the Nobel Peace Prize 2002 has been awarded to the former president of the USA.

- In his period as US President and since he left office, Mr. Carter has been working for peace and reconciliation through democratisation, respect for human rights and economic development. These are principles well anchored also in Norwegian foreign policy, the Prime Minister said.

- As president Mr. Carter helped lifting human rights onto the international agenda. His invaluable contributions inspired the Camp David agreement between Egypt and Israel, which again led to the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to President Anwar Sadat and Prime Minister Menahem Begin in 1978, Mr. Bondevik said.

Since Mr. Carter left office the struggle for peace and human rights have continued to be the focal point of the Carter Centre. The centre works for democracy through electoral observation, building of institutions and respect for human rights.

- Through his centre Mr. Carter has contributed to mediation in a number of conflicts. Parties are offered assistance when traditional mechanisms of conflict resolution are no longer efficient. Norway has supported the work of the Carter Centre in the peace process in Sudan/Uganda with 2.6 million from 1999 and 2001, the Prime Minister said.

- In a situation marked by threats to use power, Jimmy Carter is steadfast on the principles that conflicts first and foremost be settled through mediation and international cooperation based on international law, respect for human rights and economic development, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said.