THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE FOR 2009

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on October 9, 2009, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009 to President Barack Obama for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples. The Committee attached special importance to Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons.

The committee said that Obama has as President created a new climate in international politics. Multilateral diplomacy has regained a central position, with emphasis on the role that the United Nations and other international institutions can play. Dialogue and negotiations are preferred as instruments for resolving even the most difficult international conflicts. The vision of a world free from nuclear arms has powerfully stimulated disarmament and arms control negotiations. Thanks to Obama's initiative, the USA is now playing a more constructive role in meeting the great climatic challenges the world is confronting. Democracy and human rights are to be strengthened.