The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in partnership with the City of The Hague has opened a call for nominations for the 2024 OPCW-The Hague Award. Full details of the eligibility criteria and requirements for nominations, as well as the online nomination form, are now available on the OPCW website.
Established in 2014, the Award extends the legacy of the OPCW's 2013 Nobel Peace Prize 'for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons'. The Award is part of the OPCW's ongoing effort to highlight significant contributions made by individuals and organisations, widely from academia, researchers, chemical industry, and civil society to achieve a world free of chemical weapons.
The Award recognises significant contributions to areas related to the Chemical Weapons Convention, including:
Preventing the re-emergence of chemical weapons
Supporting national implementation of the Convention
Promoting chemistry for peaceful purposes
Preventing the threat of chemical terrorism
Ensuring preparedness for chemical incidents and emergencies
Promoting universality and awareness of the Convention
Supporting victims of chemical weapons
Eliminating chemical weapons
Promoting the successful conclusion of the Convention
The €90,000 cash prize may be awarded to up to three recipients, each of whom will receive a share of the total.
Nominations are being accepted until 31 July 2024.
The Director-General of the OPCW, Ambassador Fernando Arias remarked: "Achieving a world free of chemical weapons is a collective global endeavour involving many stakeholders and efforts. The OPCW-The Hague Award is an important platform to honour these efforts."
The Award was established in partnership with the City of The Hague, which hosts the OPCW's headquarters and is hailed as the international city of peace and justice.
The Mayor of the City of The Hague, Mr Jan van Zanen underscored: "The OPCW-The Hague Award recognises those making a real contribution towards a safer world. As the international city of peace and justice, The Hague is proud to collaborate with the OPCW on this award."
The nominations will be evaluated by a panel comprising of the Director-General of the OPCW, the Mayor of The Hague, the Chairperson of the Executive Council of the OPCW, and officials from the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) and International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC).
An award ceremony will take place during the Organisation's annual Conference of the States Parties, to be held in The Hague from 25 to 29 November 2024.
The Director-General added: "We are looking forward to recognising the diverse and noble efforts to uphold the global norm against chemical weapons, bring visibility to chemical weapons issues, and ensure that future generations approach chemistry responsibility."
Background
In 2013, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize 'for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons'. To preserve the legacy of this achievement, the OPCW established the OPCW-The Hague Award in partnership with the Municipality of The Hague in 2014. The Award honours the efforts of individuals and organisations that have made an outstanding contribution towards a world free of chemical weapons.
As the implementing body for the Chemical Weapons Convention, the OPCW, with its 193 Member States, oversees the global endeavour to permanently eliminate chemical weapons. Since the Convention's entry into force in 1997, it is the most successful disarmament treaty eliminating an entire class of weapons of mass destruction.
In 2023, the OPCW verified that all chemical weapons stockpiles declared by the 193 States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention since 1997 - totalling 72,304 metric tonnes of chemical agents - have been irreversibly destroyed under the OPCW's strict verification regime.
