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OPCW "pleasantly surprised" as winner of Nobel Peace Prize

11 October 2013 20:35 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is "pleasantly surprised" with the Nobel Peace Prize, said Director General Ahmet Uzumcu at a press conference, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

"The recognition that the peace prize brings will spur us to untiring efforts, even stronger commitment and greater dedication," Ahmet Uzumcu said in his statement.

"I truly hope that this award and the OPCW's on-going mission, together with the United Nations in Syria will help broader efforts to achieve peace in that country," he added.

The director-general stressed that the on-going events in Syria are a "tragic reminder," and that much work "remains to be done."

"Our hearts go out to the Syrian people who were recently victims of the horror of chemical weapons. Today we are engaged in work which is meant to ensure that this atrocity is not repeated,"he said.

Under ideal conditions, destroying chemical weapons will always be a tricky and difficult process. Fulfilling that task in a country embroiled in a violent conflict like Syria will be immensely more difficult, the Director-General recognized.

"Never in the history of our organization have we been called on to verify a destruction program within such short time frames and in an on-going conflict. We are conscious of the on-going trust that the international community has given us," he said.

The OPCW announced on Tuesday that it would deploy a second team of inspectors to verify the dismantling of Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.

The chemical weapons watchdog based in The Hague, was established to enforce the Chemical Weapons Convention, ratified or acceded by 189 states parties.