THE award of this year’s Nobel Peace Prize to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) mission in Syria had a special significance for Limerick man Kieran Carey in his role as inspection team leader in the war-torn country.
However, the Janesboro native, who had the task of breaking the good news to OPCW inspectors on the ground in Syria, said there were still many challenges to be met by this Friday’s November 1 deadline for the destruction of the chemical weapons.
The OPCW-UN mission had by October 27 completed verification activities on 21 of the 23 chemical related sites declared by Syria. There are 22 OPCW experts and about 50 UN staff currently supervising the destruction programme.
Announcing the Nobel award, he told the Syrian team that he had called them together to break “some extraordinary and completely unexpected news” from Director General Ahmet Üzümcü in the Hague to the effect that the OPCW had been awarded this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
“But let me be clear, the organisation has received this remarkable recognition for its work throughout the world and throughout its history. In its citation the Nobel committee referred specifically to ‘recent events in Syria where chemical weapons have again been put to use have underlined the need to enhance the efforts to do away with such weapons’ but this prize goes to all of our colleagues past and present even though we happen to be in the limelight here today”..
The Limerick peacekeeper went on tell his team that they must not rest on their laurels.
“We’ve only just embarked on our extraordinarily difficult mission. We’ve done it with determination, commitment, courage and professionalism. But there is a long road ahead and there are many more milestones to pass. So allow me to say for the moment, literally for a moment.
“Congratulations. Well done. Now get back to your tasks. There are tight deadlines to meet,” he concluded.
Local Fine Gael TD Kieran O’Donnell congratulated Mr Carey on his role in helping to eliminating chemical weapons in Syria with the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organisation. He described OPCW’s achievement as “truly remarkable, perhaps the ultimate testament that can be given”.
“Tragic events in Syria have emphasised the absolute importance of the work being done by Kieran Carey and the OPCW. They are quite simply on a mission to save lives,” he said.
