OSLO: The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for ‘extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons’.
The announcement to this effect was made by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo on Friday.
“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,” the Committee said in a statement.
“Some states are still not members of the OPCW. Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the USA and Russia,” it added.
