This year's Nobel Peace Prize has been jointly awarded to a Belarusian activist and two human rights organizations in Ukraine and Russia.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded the honor to rights advocate Ales Bialiatski from Belarus, the Russian human rights group Memorial and Ukraine's Center for Civil Liberties.

The committee said the laureates represent civil society in their home countries and have for many years promoted the right to criticize power and protect the fundamental rights of citizens, and have made an outstanding effort to document war crimes, human right abuses and abuse of power. 

Bialiatski was part of a democracy movement that emerged in Belarus in the mid-1980s against the country's dictator Alexander Lukashenko. He has been detained since July last year. Belarus is a prominent pro-Russian country placed under global sanctions.

Memorial is the oldest human rights organization in Russia, compiling information on political oppression in the country and monitoring rights violations in former Soviet nations.

Moscow disbanded Memorial's headquarters and its affiliates last year, claiming it colluded with foreign powers to undermine Russia's national security.

The Ukraine-based NGO Center for Civil Liberties has engaged in efforts to identify and document war crimes with a view to holding the guilty parties accountable.

The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded 103 times since 1901.