The OCPW Has Won The Nobel Peace Prize

They are overseeing the removal of chemical weapons in Syria 


The Nobel Committee said it was in honour of the OPCW's "extensive work to eliminate chemical weapons".

The Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons was established to enforce the 1997 Chemical Weapons convention.

It recently sent inspectors to carry out the dismantling of Syria's stockpile of chemical weapons.

The watchdog picks up a gold medal and 8m Swedish kronor ($1.25m; £780,000) as winner of the most coveted of the Nobel honours.

Pakistani school girl campaigner Malala Yousafzai and gynaecologist Denis Mukwege of the Democratic Republic of Congo had been tipped as favourites to take the award.

Profile: Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is an independent, international body set up in 1997 to implement the Chemical Weapons Convention.

The organisation is currently involved in destroying Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons - the first time the OPCW has worked in a war zone.

It carries out inspections of destruction procedures, as well as evaluating members' own declarations, in order to verify that the convention is being adhered to.

It is based in The Hague and has 189 member states, covering around 98% of the world's population, it says. These member nations have agreed to work together to create a world free from chemical weapons.

The OPCW employs around 500 people and has a budget of 75m euros ($102m, £63m) in 2010.