Mr Dooley, a senior advisor to Washington DC-based NGO Human Rights First, was named winner in September and this month travelled to Oslo to collect the award.

The award is presented annually during Oslo Peace Days as a recognition of personal efforts and active involvement in one or more areas related to human rights issues in a broad sense.

The university said Mr Dooley received the award for having dedicated his career to advocating human rights and bringing greater global attention to less visible issues.

Welcoming the award, Mr Dooley said: “This is such a great honour for me, and I’m very grateful to the University of Oslo for recognising my work.

“I’ve been very lucky over decades that my work with Amnesty International, with the Gulf Centre for Human Rights, with Mary Lawlor — the special rapporteur on human rights defenders — and with Human Rights First has enabled me to meet and work with human rights defenders working in some of the most difficult places in the world.”

Mr Dooley has written numerous reports on human rights defenders and human rights issues based on research in countries including Bahrain, Egypt, China (Hong Kong), Hungary, Kenya, Lebanon, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Ukraine, the USA (Guantanamo), and the United Arab Emirates.

His efforts have played a crucial role in exposing human rights violations, and he has actively supported justice in conflict areas, including Ukraine and Northern Ireland.

He holds a PhD in civil rights history from the University of East Anglia, an MPhil in political science and politics from the Open University, and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of East Anglia.

Mathilde Skoie, vice-rector at the University of Oslo and the rectorate’s representative on the prize committee, said: “Brian Dooley’s contributions represent a unique combination of concrete advice and case-specific work, research, and political advocacy, often related to contentious issues in contexts marked by war or revolution.”

Through his work, Mr Dooley has consistently worked with significant personal risk to ensure that activists on the front lines receive the attention and support they need.

He has documented abuses, put the spotlight on human rights defenders, provided direct humanitarian aid in war zones, and contributed strategic political recommendations to protect fundamental freedoms.

Mr Dooley added: “Too often great work by local activists in wars or revolutions, or those living under oppression, goes unseen and unreported. This award helps bring attention to this work, and to those who do it.”