Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons wins 2013 Nobel peace prize

Headquarters of the OPCW in Hague, Netherlands

A once-obscure international organization that was thrust into the global limelight this year when it was handed the task of securing and eliminating Syria's chemical weapons has won the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize. 

A team from the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is currently on the ground in Damascus assessing the information provided to them by the regime of Bashar al-Assad and drafting a plan to eliminate Syria’s stockpile – believed to measure around 1,000 tonnes – of deadly nerve agents sarin and VX.

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), which entered into force in 1997. As of today the OPCW has 189 Member States, who are working together to achieve a world free from chemical weapons. They share the collective goal of preventing chemistry from ever again being used for warfare, thereby strengthening international security.

To this end, the Convention contains four key provisions:

1. destroying all existing chemical weapons under international verification by the OPCW;

2. monitoring chemical industry to prevent new weapons from re-emerging;

3. providing assistance and protection to States Parties against chemical     threats; and

4. fostering international cooperation to strengthen implementation of the  Convention and promote the peaceful use of chemistry.

The OPCW, based in the Hague in the Netherlands, has about 500 staff and an annual budget of under $100 million.

The OPCW is overseeing the destruction of Syria's chemical weapons.The OPCW, which has 189 member states, has said Syria was cooperating and it could eliminate its chemical weapons by mid-2014, provided they received support from all sides in its civil war.