ElBaradei and IAEA accept Nobel Peace Prize

The world should work to make nuclear weapons as universally condemned as slavery or genocide, International Atomic Energy Agency…

The world should work to make nuclear weapons as universally condemned as slavery or genocide, International Atomic Energy Agency director Mohamed ElBaradei said today after receiving the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.

Mr ElBaradei, the Egyptian head of the United Nations' nuclear watchdog, said the world has 27,000 nuclear warheads and that is "27,000 too many".

"The hard part is how do we create an environment in which nuclear weapons - like slavery or genocide - are regarded as a taboo and a historical anomaly?" Mr ElBaradei said.

Announced as laureates in October, Mr ElBaradei and the IAEA shared the Peace Prize for their work to prevent the spread of nuclear arms and promote the safe use of atomic power.

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Mr ElBaradei and IAEA Board of Governors Chairman Yukiya Amano of Japan received gold medals and Nobel diplomas at a ceremony at Oslo City Hall to applause from about 1,000 guests.

The 10 million Swedish crown ($1.25 million) award was the 15th Nobel Peace Prize to go to a UN agency or people linked to the world body.

Mr ElBaradei said the world faced "threats without borders" that could not be tackled by building walls, developing bigger weapons or dispatching troops, but only through multilateral cooperation. Those threats are weapons of mass destruction, terrorism, organised crime, armed conflict, poverty, infectious disease and environmental degradation, he said.

"In regions where conflicts have been left to fester for decades, countries continue to look for ways to offset their insecurities or project their power," he said.

"In some cases, they may be tempted to seek their own weapons of mass destruction, like others who have preceded them.

"We must ensure - absolutely that no more countries acquire these deadly weapons," he said, adding, "We must see to it that nuclear-weapon states take concrete steps towards nuclear disarmament."

He urged three concrete actions: better protection of nuclear material and a strengthened system of verification, control of the nuclear fuel cycle and accelerated disarmament efforts.

Despite hopes at the end of the Cold War 15 years ago for a new world order based on human solidarity, the world is still "nowhere near that goal," the peace laureate said.