On Friday, Norwegian parliament member Petter Eide announced that he nominated The Black Lives Matter organization for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

“To carry forward a movement of racial justice and to spread that to other countries is very, very important,” Eide told USA Today in an interview Saturday. “Black Lives Matter is the strongest force today doing this, not only in the U.S. but also in Europe and in Asia.”

Eide explained the importance of nominating BLM. “Awarding the peace prize to Black Lives Matter, as the strongest global force against racial injustice, will send a powerful message that peace is founded on equality, solidarity and human rights, and that all countries must respect those basic principles,” Eide concluded in his written nomination, according to The Guardian.

Black Lives Matter responded to the nomination on Twitter shortly after the announcement.

We hold the largest social movement in global history. Today, we have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. People are waking up to our global call: for racial justice and an end to economic injustice, environmental racism, and white supremacy. We're only getting started ✊🏾 pic.twitter.com/xjestPNFzC

— Black Lives Matter (@Blklivesmatter) January 30, 2021

 

Nominations will be accepted through Monday (Feb. 1) and The Norweigan Nobel Committee will select a winner in October.