The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday "for its extensive efforts" to rid the world of such weapons, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
"The conventions and the work of the OPCW have defined the use of chemical weapons as a taboo under international law," the committee said. "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."
Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the global chemical watchdog has been overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemicals weapon arsenal in response to an August chemical weapons attack outside Damascus amid a raging civil war.
The organization was formed in 1997 to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention, the first international treaty to outlaw an entire class of weapons.
The organization has 189 member states and Friday's award comes just days before Syria officially joins and even as OPCW inspectors are on a highly risky United Nations-backed disarmament mission based in Damascus to verify and destroy President Bashar Assad's arsenal of poison gas and nerve agents.
A record 259 candidates, including 50 organizations, were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year, including Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban last October for advocating education for girls.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.
Tidak ada komentar:
Posting Komentar