The Nobel Peace Prize 2013 is awarded to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
– The OPWC receives the Peace Prize for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons, said the leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Thorbjørn Jagland.
The organisation is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997. As of today the OPCW has 189 Member States, who are working together to achieve a world free from chemical weapons. They share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security.
In his announcement Jagland said that the conventions and the work of the OPCW have defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law.
– Recent events in Syria, where chemical weapons have again been put to use, have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons, Jagland said.
The OPCW has recently made headlines featuring in stories about Syria where they are cooperating with the UN in an effort to destroy chemical weapons.
- · Learn more about the OPCW here.
80 % reduction of chemical weapons
Until this fall only Angola, Egypt, Israel, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria were the only countries that had not signed the treaty.
Following pressure from the international community and their ally Russia, Syria has recently expressed interest in becoming a member of the treaty, and has taken the initial steps to sign and ratify it.
Israel and Myanmar has signed, but not ratified the convention.
The CWC is considered the most successful treaty for disarmament. Along with the work of the OPWC, it has contributed to nearly 80 % of the world’s chemical weapons arsenals being destroyed.
Text modified by: ThorNews
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