The anti-chemical weapons group tasked with overseeing the destruction of Syria’s weapons stockpiles has been awarded a Nobel Peace Prize. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), is currently leading teams into the battlefields of Syria’s civil war to eliminate all of the country’s chemical weapons—some of which were recently used in a sarin gas attack that killed more than 1,400 people in a village near Damascus. The U.N.-orchestrated deal to allow the OPCW to come into the country and destroy the chemical weapons is credited with preventing American military intervention in the country. As this story notes, OPCW’s 27-member team on the ground in Syria is taking part in a risky mission—transporting and burning the chemical weapons can be extremely dangerous, and careful measures must be taken throughout the process. The head of the OPCW issued a statement saying, “I am sure…(the prize) will give encouragement to our staff to demonstrate more what they could do in terms of contributions to global peace and security” …
