International Group of Volunteer Doctors Receives 1999 Nobel Peace Prize

The international medical-relief organization Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) has been named the winner of the 1999 Nobel Peace Prize.

The organization each year arranges for 2,000 medical professionals from around the world to volunteer to work in more than 80 countries. It relies heavily on private contributions and the help of volunteers — in large part because it says it wants to avoid being dependent on any government organization that could dictate its priorities.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised that independence when it announced the award last month.

“In critical situations marked by violence and brutality, the humanitarian work of Doctors Without Borders enables the organization to create openings for contacts between the opposed parties,” the committee said. “At the same time, each fearless and self-sacrificing helper shows each victim a human face, stands for respect for that person’s dignity, and is a source of hope for peace and reconciliation.”

It added: “By intervening so rapidly, Doctors Without Borders calls public attention to humanitarian catastrophes, and by pointing to the causes of such catastrophes, the organization helps to form bodies of public opinion opposed to violations and abuses of power.”

Médecins Sans Frontières was founded in 1971 by a group of French doctors. They said their aim was to rectify what they perceived as the shortcomings of the international aid system: that sophisticated medical attention was too rarely available and that other relief groups too often got bogged down by administrative and legal obstacles.

The organization not only provides medical relief, but also sees itself as an advocate for victims of warfare and natural disasters and is aggressive in calling press attention to their needs.

The non-profit organization took in $231-million in 1997, the latest year for which income figures are available.

The organization — which is now based in Brussels but has offices in 18 countries — will receive $960,000 when it accepts the Peace Prize at ceremonies in Oslo in December.

In 1997, the Peace Prize went to another non-profit organization, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, and its founder Jody Williams (The Chronicle, October 30, 1997).

The full text of the Nobel announcement is available on the Nobel Foundation’s World-Wide Web site at http://www.nobel.se/announcement-99/peace99_eng.html.