Yesterdays seminars on Norwegian and International Support to Human Rights Defenders - under and after COVID-19 and the Oslo launch of The 2020 Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health & Climate Change, were important pre-Oslo Peace Days events. Monday, we will announce this years University of Oslo Human Rights Award winner, and with that open the third and this time digital, Oslo Peace Days. Important days for us all.
Human rights work is an integral part of the University of Oslo. It has been for decades and through different crises. Several students and staff has played, and are playing important roles in fighting for a more just world. The most prominent example is Fridtjof Nansen, professor of zoology and polar explorer. The First World War had led to a disasterous refugee crisis in Europe. Nansen, as the League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was a key player in finding solution