International

The SP is absolutely delighted by the award of the Nobel Prize for peace to the Organisation for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), which, as SP Member of Parliament Harry van Bommel says, is certainly deserved. ‘The OPCW is playing an important role in relation to the conflict in Syria and has demonstrated this year that it can react quickly and effectively to a crisis,’ he says. ‘The importance of the organisation has grown markedly. The award is at the same time an encouragement to more countries to join the ban on chemical weapons.’

According to Van Bommel, the Netherlands can be proud of the award, in that the country hosts important organisations like the OPCW, as well as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. Those organisations have sometimes attracted strong criticism, but to date the OPCW has been above reproach, which gives an additional reason to celebrate.