Following the announcement that The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, Salil Shetty, Secretary General of Amnesty International commented:

“This is a worthy winner, and a choice that reaffirms international principles against the use of chemical weapons and other banned weapons that cause untold suffering.

“It is a timely reminder to all governments and to those fighting in armed conflicts that wars have rules that must be respected. The prohibition of chemical weapons is one example of these important rules whose aim is to spare civilians.

“The recent deal in Syria was of course a positive step to remove banned chemical weapons from the battlefield, but we can’t lose sight of the enormity of the human rights crisis in the country.

“No one has been held accountable for on-going war crimes in Syria, including the horrific chemical weapons attacks. Conventional weapons continue to be used to commit mass atrocities. Today’s announcement must spur the international community to put an end to the mass violations in Syria and to address accountability for war crimes being committed by all sides of the conflict.”

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