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| Chemical Weapons Watchdog Wins Nobel Peace Prize | Chemical Weapons Watchdog Wins Nobel Peace Prize |
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| LONDON — Urging the destruction of “an entire category” of unconventional weapons, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded its 2013 Peace Prize on Friday to a relatively modest and little-known United Nations-backed body that is currently seeking to destroy Syria’s stocks of chemical arms under a deal brokered by Russia and the United States. | |
| The award to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, usually known by its initials O.P.C.W., took some Nobel-watchers by surprise. In the days leading up to the award, much attention had focused on Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani student who risked her life to campaign for female education. | The award to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, usually known by its initials O.P.C.W., took some Nobel-watchers by surprise. In the days leading up to the award, much attention had focused on Malala Yousafzai, the 16-year-old Pakistani student who risked her life to campaign for female education. |
| In its citation the committee said the O.P.C.W. and the conventions under which it was founded in 1997 “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.” | In its citation the committee said the O.P.C.W. and the conventions under which it was founded in 1997 “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.” |
| It was the second successive year that the panel, based in Oslo, chose an organization for its accolade. The European Union won the 2012 prize. | It was the second successive year that the panel, based in Oslo, chose an organization for its accolade. The European Union won the 2012 prize. |
| Inspectors from the 189-member O.P.C.W. began arriving in Syria this month after a chemical weapons attack on the outskirts of Damascus on Aug. 21 killed hundreds of people. Under the Russian-American agreement, Syria is scheduled to become the 190th member of the organization in coming days. | |
| The chemical attack outside Damascus initially drew an American threat of military reprisal before Moscow and Washington reached a compromise arrangement to seek the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stocks under international supervision. | |
| Thorbjorn Jagland, the former Norwegian prime minister who is chairman of the panel, said chemical weapons had been used by Hitler’s armies in their campaign of mass extermination and on many other occasions by states and terrorists. He denied that the award to a body based in The Hague represented a Eurocentric shift after last year’s award to the European Union."It’s global,” he said. | Thorbjorn Jagland, the former Norwegian prime minister who is chairman of the panel, said chemical weapons had been used by Hitler’s armies in their campaign of mass extermination and on many other occasions by states and terrorists. He denied that the award to a body based in The Hague represented a Eurocentric shift after last year’s award to the European Union."It’s global,” he said. |
| The organization is supposed to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997 with four aims: to seek the destruction of all chemical weapons under international verification; to prevent the creation of new chemical weapons; to help countries protect themselves against chemical attack; and to foster international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry. | The organization is supposed to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention, which entered into force in 1997 with four aims: to seek the destruction of all chemical weapons under international verification; to prevent the creation of new chemical weapons; to help countries protect themselves against chemical attack; and to foster international cooperation in the peaceful use of chemistry. |
| The identity of the Nobel Peace Prize winner is notoriously difficult to forecast. | The identity of the Nobel Peace Prize winner is notoriously difficult to forecast. |
| Much speculation before Friday’s announcement centered on Ms. Yousafzai, who was shot by a Taliban gunman a year ago in retribution for her campaign. Another front-runner was said to have been Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who has treated rape victims in the long-running conflict in his native Congo. | Much speculation before Friday’s announcement centered on Ms. Yousafzai, who was shot by a Taliban gunman a year ago in retribution for her campaign. Another front-runner was said to have been Denis Mukwege, a gynecologist who has treated rape victims in the long-running conflict in his native Congo. |
| But, an hour before Friday’s announcement, the Norwegian public broadcaster, NRK, forecast that the 2013 prize would go to the O.P.C.W. The broadcaster also correctly tipped the European Union as last year’s winner. | |
| The award is worth $1.25 million and will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of its founder, the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who established the prize in 1895 in his will. It was the 94th to be awarded since then. | The award is worth $1.25 million and will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of its founder, the Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who established the prize in 1895 in his will. It was the 94th to be awarded since then. |
| While much attention is focused on Syria’s chemical weapons stocks, the Nobel committee noted pointedly that other countries — including the United States and Russia — had not scrapped chemical arsenals. | While much attention is focused on Syria’s chemical weapons stocks, the Nobel committee noted pointedly that other countries — including the United States and Russia — had not scrapped chemical arsenals. |
| “Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the U.S.A. and Russia,” the committee said. | “Certain states have not observed the deadline, which was April 2012, for destroying their chemical weapons. This applies especially to the U.S.A. and Russia,” the committee said. |
| “Disarmament figures prominently in Alfred Nobel’s will. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has through numerous prizes underlined the need to do away with nuclear weapons,” the committee said. “By means of the present award to the O.P.C.W., the Committee is seeking to contribute to the elimination of chemical weapons.” | “Disarmament figures prominently in Alfred Nobel’s will. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has through numerous prizes underlined the need to do away with nuclear weapons,” the committee said. “By means of the present award to the O.P.C.W., the Committee is seeking to contribute to the elimination of chemical weapons.” |
| Mr. Jagland said that the award would remind nations holding major stocks of chemical weapons, such as the United States and Russia, to destroy them “especially because they are demanding that others do the same, like Syria.” | Mr. Jagland said that the award would remind nations holding major stocks of chemical weapons, such as the United States and Russia, to destroy them “especially because they are demanding that others do the same, like Syria.” |
| “We now have the opportunity to get rid of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction,” he said. “That would be a great event in history if we could achieve that.” | “We now have the opportunity to get rid of an entire category of weapons of mass destruction,” he said. “That would be a great event in history if we could achieve that.” |
| At its headquarters in The Hague, the O.P.C.W. offered no immediate comment on the award but scheduled a news conference for later in the day. But its director general, Ahmet Uzumcu, told the NRK broadcaster that the award was “an acknowledgement of our staff’s efforts, who are now deployed in Syria, who have been, in fact, making a very brave effort there to fulfill their mandate.” | |
| Some analysts said the award enabled the Nobel committee to evoke the civil war in Syria without directly taking sides. | Some analysts said the award enabled the Nobel committee to evoke the civil war in Syria without directly taking sides. |
| United Nations inspectors who examined the site of chemical weapons attacks outside Damascus in August did not specify who had fired them. Many Western experts and government blamed government forces while President Bashar al-Assad accused his foes in the conflict, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives since it began as a civilian revolt in March 2011. | United Nations inspectors who examined the site of chemical weapons attacks outside Damascus in August did not specify who had fired them. Many Western experts and government blamed government forces while President Bashar al-Assad accused his foes in the conflict, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives since it began as a civilian revolt in March 2011. |
| The official Syrian state news agency offered no immediate comment on the award. | The official Syrian state news agency offered no immediate comment on the award. |
This | The Nobel announcement played into a tangle of regional and international rivalries. |
| Speaking in Moscow, the Foreign Minister, Sergey V. Lavrov, said Russia, President Assad’s biggest international sponsor, would insist that the transfer of Syria’s chemical weapons to international control would take place according to schedule. But he accused other countries, some neighboring Syria, of trying to derail the initiative. | |
| The responsibility for the process is held, he said, “not only by the Syrian government, but by all the other sides in Syria, by the entire opposition, and also by other countries. Above all those countries that neighbor Syria, and which are forbidden to use their territory for any games with chemical weapons.” | |
Andrew Roth contributed reporting from Moscow. | |
| This article has been revised to reflect the following correction: | |
| Correction: October 11, 2013 | Correction: October 11, 2013 |
An earlier version of this article misstated the date that the Nobel Peace Prize will be presented. The award will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel. It was not presented on Friday. | An earlier version of this article misstated the date that the Nobel Peace Prize will be presented. The award will be presented on Dec. 10, the anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel. It was not presented on Friday. |