Nobel Peace Prize goes to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)
Director General of OPCW, Ahmet Üzümcü. Photo by Reuters.
On 11 October in the
capital of Norway, the Nobel Committee announced the winner of the
Nobel Peace Prize for 2013 . The prestigious award was given to the
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW ), which
in late September approved the plan for the destruction of chemical
weapons arsenal in Syria.
According to the Organizing
Committee of the Award, the OPCW is awarded for its extensive work
on the elimination of chemical weapons in the world. This was stated
by the chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Secretary General
of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland .
OPCW is an
international organization created with the support of the United
Nations on 29 April 1997, following the entry into force of the
Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, opened for
signature in January 1993. Among the main objectives of the
organization is the monitoring of compliance with the ban on the use
of chemical weapons and liquidation of its stocks, the promotion of
cooperation in the field of peaceful chemistry, assistance to States
in providing protection against chemical weapons and its
non-proliferation. The headquarters of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is in the Hague.
Nobel Peace
Prize is traditionally awarded on 10 December, the Human Rights Day,
in Oslo. The prize winner will receive a cash award of 1,250,000
dollars.
This prestigious international award is awarded since
1901 for achievements in peacemaking and humanitarian activities.
After 1991, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has officially announcedthe
termination of local conflicts and wars, and the protection of human
rights as its priorities.
