Law professor Cassel to join Colombian president at Nobel Peace Prize ceremony | News | Notre Dame News | University of Notre Dame Skip To Content Skip To Navigation Skip To Search University of Notre Dame Notre Dame News Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Home Contact Search Menu Home › News › Law professor Cassel to join Colombian president at Nobel Peace Prize ceremony Law professor Cassel to join Colombian president at Nobel Peace Prize ceremony Published: December 07, 2016 Author: Shannon Roddel Notre Dame Law School professor Douglass Cassel will join Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos at the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony Saturday (December 10) in Oslo, Norway. Santos will receive his prize from the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in the presence of King Harald V of Norway. Santos was named the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize laureate October 7 “for his resolute efforts to bring Colombia’s more than 50-year-long civil war with the country’s largest rebel group, the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia), to an end.” Cassel, who played a crucial role in the peace talks, will join Santos at his request. Although Colombians voted against the peace agreement in October, the country’s Congress approved a revised peace accord November 30 between the government and the FARC guerrillas. “This means that real steps toward peace — demobilization and disarmament of the guerrillas — will now begin,” Cassel said. “While much legislative and constitutional reform work remains to be accomplished in Congress, the process of ending the longest civil war in the hemisphere now appears to be irreversible. “I can think of no one more deserving than President Santos to win the Nobel Peace Prize,” Cassel said. “He has long persevered in the pursuit of peace, in spite of many obstacles. When Colombians voted by a razor-thin margin to reject the negotiated peace agreement, he responded by convening a national dialogue to see what could be improved, and by declaring his determination to work for peace until his last day in office. President Santos is truly a man who has peace in his heart.” Adviser to Notre Dame’s Center for Civil and Human Rights, Cassel was appointed by Santos to a bilateral working group tasked with developing proposals for legal mechanisms to hold accountable those responsible for the most serious acts of violence committed by both the government and the rebel forces during the war. On September 25, Santos presented Cassel with the Order of Merit, Colombia’s highest award granted to foreign citizens, for his service to government in helping to negotiate the transitional justice component of the peace agreement. (Watch Cassel’s Fighting For Lasting Peace) Contact: Douglass Cassel, doug.cassel@nd.edu Posted In: International Home Experts ND in the News Subscribe About Us Related September 30, 2022 Nanovic Institute to welcome former President of Croatia Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović September 29, 2022 Notre Dame, Ukrainian Catholic University launch three new research grants September 27, 2022 Notre Dame, Trinity College Dublin engineers join to advance novel treatment for cystic fibrosis September 14, 2022 Apostolic nuncio to Great Britain to deliver the 2022 Keeley Vatican Lecture September 12, 2022 Can you tell me how to get to Sesame Street … in different countries? For the Media Contact Office of Public Affairs and Communications Notre Dame News 500 Grace Hall Notre Dame, IN 46556 USA Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube Pinterest © 2022 University of Notre Dame Search Mobile App News Events Visit Accessibility Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn