Jody Williams
Facts
Photo from the Nobel Foundation archive.
Jody Williams
The Nobel Peace Prize 1997
Born: 9 October 1950, Rutland, VT, USA
Residence at the time of the award: Putney, VT, USA
Prize motivation: “for their work for the banning and clearing of anti-personnel mines”
Prize share: 1/2
Peace Activist and a Driving Force in the Campaign against Landmines
When Jody Williams was studying international politics in the 1980s, she became involved in aid work in war-torn El Salvador. Landmines were a constant threat to the civilian population, and she was given responsibility for providing artificial limbs for children who had lost arms and legs.
From 1991 on, Jody Williams was a driving force in the launching of an international campaign against landmines. By 1997, thanks to her strength and organizational talent, the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) had 1,000 organizations from 60 countries on its list of members.
The Ottawa Convention, which was signed by 120 states and entered into force in 1999, will always be associated with the names of Jody Williams and the ICBL. It banned the use, production, sale and stock-piling of anti-personnel mines. In addition it contained provisions concerning mine clearance and the obligation to provide humanitarian assistance.
Nobel Prizes and laureates
Six prizes were awarded for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind. The 12 laureates' work and discoveries range from proteins' structures and machine learning to fighting for a world free of nuclear weapons.
See them all presented here.
