Richardson Nominated For Nobel Peace Prize

The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the nation's largest Latino civil rights organization, announced today that it has joined with a group of prominent academics and political leaders in nominating Energy Secretary Bill Richardson for the Nobel Peace Prize. In its nomination submission, the group cited Richardson's success as a diplomatic troubleshooter and his years of service promoting democracy, domestic civil rights, and international human rights.

"This would be a long overdue honor for a man I have worked with and admired since his earliest days in the U. S. Congress. I have seen firsthand how Bill Richardson has fought for the powerless and voiceless both in this country and abroad and no one is more fitting and deserving of this most prestigious of awards," stated Raul Yzaguirre, NCLR President.

This is Secretary Richardson's third nomination for the Nobel Prize; he was previously nominated in 1995 and 1997. In their submission, the nominators noted, "After investing years of his life fighting for the rights of those less privileged, years crossing the globe freeing the oppressed and the falsely imprisoned, Bill Richardson has, today, ascended to the upper reaches of the United States Government - and has from there only increased his commitment to bettering the lot of all human beings."

Among Richardson's accomplishments cited in the nomination submission:

* His work to free American servicemen and others being held captive in Iraq, North Korea, Sudan, Cuba, and elsewhere.

* His negotiation of a peaceful transfer of power in the former Congo.

* His brokering of an agreement, after securing a military stand-down, for face-to-face peace talks between the Taliban regime and opposing factions in Afghanistan.

* His secure of safe passage for some 7,000 Tajikistan refugees trapped in northern Afghanistan through Uzbekistan.

In addition to Yzaguirre, a former Fellow of the Institute of Politics at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, the members of the nominating committee include educators Stanford Law Professor Miguel A. Mendez; Brooklyn Law School Professor Emeritus Henry Mark Holzer and College of Santa Fe Professor Robert McGeagh and members of Congress Rep. Bart Gordon (D-TN); Rep. Xavier Becerra (D-CA); and Rep. Ed Pastor (D-AZ).

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