(CNN) The announcement of who will receive the Nobel Peace Prize is always most powerful when it taps into the global conversation of the moment.

In that sense, the 2018 decision to recognize two people -- Congolese surgeon Denis Mukwege and Yazidi campaigner Nadia Murad -- for their efforts to end sexual violence as a weapon of war could not have been more apt, or better timed.

The announcement landed one year to the day since the New York Times published a report on Harvey Weinstein that blew open the #MeToo movement . It also came hours after hundreds of Americans were arrested during protests over the nomination of a Supreme Court judge who has been accused of sexual assault during high school (he denies the claims).

The significance of this cannot be overlooked, when you consider the impact the #MeToo movement has had all over the world -- from bringing down prominent politicians to dictating the discourse around major events, like the Oscars and Emmy awards.

Berit Reiss-Andersen, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, was asked Friday whether the panel had been inspired by the #MeToo movement. "I believe that #MeToo and war crimes aren't quite the same thing," she responded. "What they do have in common is that it is important to see the suffering of women, to see the abuses."

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