The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for her tireless efforts to promote the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
The ICIP welcomes the fact that the award highlights explicit support for democracy in the face of authoritarianism—in this case, that of Venezuela—and the value of dialogue as a tool for conflict resolution.
The ICIP president, Xavier Masllorens, emphasised that Machado “is a figure of consensus within the highly fragmented Venezuelan opposition, a symbol of resistance, and a defender of civil rights and citizen participation.”
With a long history of defending human rights, María Corina Machado also represents perseverance and a steadfast commitment to peace —an “urgent necessity” in today’s context of rising authoritarianism.
