This year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates have spoken out about human rights violations in their countries.

The laureates are from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus. They received medals and diplomas during a ceremony in the Norwegian city of Oslo on Saturday.
The recipients are a Belarusian human rights advocate and two human rights organizations in Russia and Ukraine.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, who heads the Center for Civil Liberties, said during her speech that Ukrainians are hearing their language spoken at this year's official ceremony for the first time in history. She said that fills them with pride. The remarks drew applause from the audience.

Matviichuk said peace, progress and human rights are inextricably linked. She said a state that kills journalists, imprisons activists or disperses peaceful demonstrations poses a threat to its citizens, the entire region and peace in the world as a whole.

Matviichuk said people have to break the "impunity cycle and change the approach to justice for war crimes."

She blasted the presidents of Russia and Belarus. Matviichuk said, "We have to establish an international tribunal and bring Putin, Lukashenko and other war criminals to justice."

Jan Rachinsky from the Russian human rights group Memorial has documented war crimes and human rights violations since the Soviet era.

He spoke about what he calls a "chain of unpunished crimes." He was referring to previous crimes committed by the state. Rachinsky said, "Regrettably, Russian society did not have the strength to break the tradition of state violence." He added that unpunished crimes will not stop on their own.

Belarusian human rights advocate Ales Bialiatski is currently in prison. He was represented at the ceremony by his wife Natallia Pinchuk.

She quoted her husband as saying that thousands of people are presently behind bars in Belarus for political reasons, but that nothing can stop people's thirst for freedom.